Q: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will pay an official visit to China from February 25 to 26. What activities are scheduled in the economic and trade fields during this visit, and what outcomes are expected? How do you evaluate the current China-Germany economic and trade relations and the prospects for future cooperation?

A: In more than 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has continued to deepen. Germany has remained China’s largest trading partner and source of foreign investment in Europe. The industries of the two countries are deeply integrated, with the foundation for cooperation continuously strengthened. In recent years, their bilateral trade volume has remained above USD 200 billion, and the stock of two-way investment has exceeded USD 65 billion, both accounting for nearly one-quarter of the China-EU total.

German Chancellor Merz will lead a high-level economic and trade delegation to China on this visit, accompanied by executives from about 30 leading German enterprises in advantageous sectors such as automobiles, chemicals, biopharmaceuticals, machinery manufacturing, and circular economy. This fully demonstrates the Germany strong willingness to deepen bilateral economic and trade relations. China attaches great importance to economic and trade cooperation with Germany and is actively working with the German side to prepare for events such as the China-Germany economic advisory committee meeting, creating a platform for dialogue and communication where enterprises from both sides can offer suggestions and explore cooperation.

This year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. German enterprises are welcome to seize the new opportunities brought by China’s high-standard opening up, continue to strengthen cooperation in traditional fields, and simultaneously tap into the potential for cooperation in emerging areas such as clean energy, embodied intelligence, biotechnology, and industrial digitalization, turning cooperation opportunities into tangible results. China stands ready to work with Germany to enhance mutual understanding and trust through dialogue and communication, support free trade, and uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system. Through concrete actions, high-quality development of China-Germany economic and trade cooperation will be promoted effectively, serving as the ballast and propeller for China-Germany and China-EU relations.