On the morning of May 24, 2018, Premier Li Keqiang and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany jointly attended the symposium of the China-Germany Economic Advisory Committee at the Great Hall of the People, during which they exchanged views with the representatives attending the symposium.

Principals from Chinese and German companies including State Grid Corporation of China, Huawei Technologies and Geely Group from China and Siemens AG, BASF AG and Allianz Group from Germany put forward opinions and suggestions centering on issues such as international trade situation, investment environment, two-way opening up, financial cooperation and protection of intellectual property rights. After listening to the statements from representatives of entrepreneurs from both sides, Li Keqiang and Angela Merkel delivered speeches.

Li Keqiang said that this year coincides with the first year of the new government leadership for both China and Germany, so it is of great significance for the representatives from the economic and business circles of the two countries to jointly discuss major China-Germany cooperation plans. The mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and Germany benefits not only the people of both countries, but also Europe and the world at large. As the largest economies at the two ends of the Eurasian continent respectively, China and Germany have the responsibility to jointly safeguard the rules-based multilateral trade system, to unequivocally oppose protectionism and unilateralism and to maintain trade and investment liberalization and facilitation so as to continue to make contributions to the prosperity and stability of the region and the world.

Li Keqiang pointed out that the course of China’s reform and opening up over the past 40 years is a course of promoting reform through opening up. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping announced measures to expand China’s opening up at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018 in four aspects, one of which is to create a more attractive investment environment. The door of China’s opening up will be wider and wider. We will expand the business scope of foreign-funded financial institutions in China, relax the equity cap for foreign capitals in banking, securities and insurance industry, gradually relax the equity cap for foreign capitals in automobile industry and drastically reduce import tariffs on foreign automobiles and certain drugs. China hopes that German enterprises will give full play to their advantages and seize the initiative to enable China-Germany cooperation to realize mutual benefit and win-win results at a higher level.

Li Keqiang emphasized that opening up should be two-way, for closing the door to others equals blocking your own way. Therefore, it is hoped that Germany will treat Chinese enterprises as equal and reliable cooperation partners and create a fairer environment with more convenience for Chinese enterprises to invest and run business in Germany. It is expected that the China-Germany Economic Advisory Committee will continue to serve as a platform for exchanges between enterprises of the two countries and provide channels for dialogues between enterprise and government, in a bid to jointly promote the forward-looking development of China-Germany cooperation.

Angela Merkel said that the mechanism of the China-Germany Economic Advisory Committee becomes increasingly mature and has provided a platform for candid communication between the two sides. At present, the investment of German and Chinese enterprises in each other enjoys a sound development momentum. Investment is not a one-way street, and by expanding two-way investment, both sides will benefit and learn a lot from each other. She hoped that Germany and China will provide equal access to the two-way investment for enterprises of both countries.