German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with President Xi Jinping on Thursday, Oct. 29, during her visit to the Chinese capital of Beijing. The meeting between the two leaders is expected to result in strengthened Sino-German ties and possibly more Sino-EU cooperation.
In the meeting, Xi and Merkel talked about matters concerning pragmatic cooperation and bilateral strategic partnership.
According to Xi, Sino-German relations are significant as it affects ties between China and the rest of Europe, especially in terms of cooperation and global economic development. Because of this scope, the partnership between Germany and China should extend to central Europe, Eurasia and the rest of the world.
Before her meeting with President Xi, Chancellor Merkel also met with Premier Li Keqiang to discuss improved coordination in international affairs, diplomacy and security. They also talked about economic affairs such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
A total of 13 deals were agreed upon by Merkel and Li, including those within the fields of transportation, healthcare cooperation, communication and finance.
"Merkel's visit will help escalate Sino-German relations to a new level with win-win cooperation," said Ding Chun, director of the Europe Research Center at Fudan University in Shanghai, in an interview with the Global Times.
Ding added that Merkel's visits to China shows that China and Germany have developed a good rapport with each other.
Merkel, who is only staying in the country until Friday, Oct. 30, makes frequent visits to China. Her latest is her eighth time since her appointment as chancellor in 2005.
2015 was named by the Chinese government as the Year of China-Germany Innovation Cooperation.