On April 14, 2023, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock co-chaired the sixth round of China-Germany Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy and Security in Beijing.
Qin Gang said that over the past 50-odd years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and Germany have always stayed committed to mutual respect, equality, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and pursuing mutual benefit and win-win results, which has not only advanced China-Germany cooperation, but also provided guidance to the development of China-EU relations, and contributed to world peace and stability. In the past three years in particular, under the joint guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Germany relations have shown strong resilience and made substantial progress, which fully demonstrates that different civilizations can coexist with each other, and that dialogue, exchanges and cooperation are the mainstream of and right path for China-Germany relations. China and Germany are partners, not rivals, and the two sides should develop their relations independently. China is committed to advancing high-quality development, accelerating the building of a new development paradigm, and constantly expanding high-standard opening up, all of which will bring to the world a Chinese market larger in size and greater in demand and provide more development opportunities to other countries including Germany. China is ready to work with Germany to carry out all-round exchanges and advance cooperation across the board. The two sides should jointly make good preparations for China-Germany inter-governmental consultation and meetings of the High-Level People-to-People Exchange Dialogue Mechanism, and activate the more than 70 dialogue mechanisms between the two countries, to restart and speed up endeavors along these lines.
Qin Gang said that China and Germany are major countries with global influence, and the relations between the two countries have long gone beyond the bilateral scope. When the two countries work together, they can accomplish more big important things, and play a bigger role in a world of change and turbulence. The two countries should uphold the vision of a human community with a shared future, jointly defend multilateralism and the basic norms governing international relations based on the United Nations Charter, strengthen coordination within multilateral frameworks, and join hands to tackle global challenges. China and Germany have the responsibility and capability to be the guardians and propellers of globalization, and the two sides should oppose decoupling or severing industrial and supply chains. Qin expressed his hope that Germany will view China’s investment in Germany from a long-term and global perspective, and provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory market environment for Chinese enterprises.
Baerbock said she was happy to have the opportunity to take China’s high-speed train together just now, and visit German enterprises in China. Baerbock said she was impressed by the “Chinese speed”, and the outcomes of Germany-China cooperation are amazing. China is a major economy in the world and the most important trading partner of Germany. Over the past 50-odd years, the two sides have seen increasingly closer interactions and more active cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Germany develops its relations with China independently, and looks forward to an early resumption of bilateral exchanges and dialogue in various fields. The world is a community with a shared future, and all countries should jointly abide by fair rules. Germany attaches great importance to the security of the supply chain, disapproves of decoupling or severing industrial and supply chains, and advocates treating each other’s enterprises as equals. Baerbock congratulated China on successfully mediating reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, expected to have close cooperation with China on global issues, and expressed her hope that China will play a unique role in and exert its unique influence on the Ukraine crisis.
Qin Gang elaborated in depth on China’s position and propositions, emphasizing that the only way out to resolve the Ukraine crisis is to promote talks for peace. Territory is indivisible, and so is security. Turning a blind eye to other countries’ legitimate security concerns will inevitably lead to crises and conflicts. China always stands on the side of peace, and will continue to play a constructive role in facilitating the resumption of talks to end the conflict and promoting a political settlement. The Ukraine crisis has given people a profound lesson and deserves deep reflections. Qin Gang expressed China’s support for Europe in sticking to strategic autonomy and finding its way to realize long-term peace and stability.
The two sides also exchanged views on a wide range of issues such as strategic security, climate response, green development, democracy and people’s livelihood in a candid and in-depth manner.
Source: Fmprc