Chinese premier, German chancellor pledge better ties, cooperation on Syria

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a telephone conversation Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on further strengthening bilateral ties and seeking solutions to the ongoing Syrian crisis.

After exchanging New Year greetings with Merkel, Li spoke highly of the progress made in strengthening Sino-German ties last year, vowing to maintain high-level exchanges with the country and enhance pragmatic cooperation in various areas.

In particular, China will strive to achieve tangible results in the conjoining of China's "Made in China 2025" and Germany's Industry 4.0 strategies, and actively build partnerships with markets in third-party countries, he said.

The premier noted that the two countries will continue to closely cooperate and coordinate in international affairs. He said the fourth round of China-Germany inter-governmental consultations to be held later this year would inject fresh impetus into the deepening of Sino-German ties and cooperation.

Li also urged Germany to push for the European Union (EU) to fulfill as scheduled the commitments reached in China's WTO Accession Protocol signed in 2001 to properly settle trade disputes between China and the EU. He expressed the hope that Germany would continue playing an active role in pushing forward the negotiations in China-EU investment agreements.

Merkel agreed that notable progress have been made in Sino-German ties and cooperation in various fields last year. Germany is ready to work with China on better conjoining the development strategies of the two countries and enhancing pragmatic cooperation in various fields including exploring third-party markets.

The German chancellor said she was looking forward to her upcoming China visit for the fourth inter-governmental consultation, which she will co-host with Li. Germany is ready to do its part to push forward China-EU relations and cooperation, Merkel said.

On the humanitarian situation in Syria, Premier Li said China has been closely watching Syria and has been delivering as much humanitarian assistance as possible to the country.

It is a common responsibility of the international community to ease Syria's humanitarian situation, Li said, urging the international community to work closely together to find a fundamental solution for Syria through a political settlement with multi-pronged approaches.

The premier also called for support from various sides for the United Nations in its leading role in mediating and pushing for peace talks among relevant parties, so as to end the crisis in Syria and allow Syrian refugees to return to their homeland as early as possible.

Merkel said the international community highly values and appreciates China's efforts to help alleviate Syria's humanitarian situation. She expressed the hope that China would maintain its constructive role on the issue. Germany is willing to strengthen cooperation with China to seek solutions to the Syrian crisis, the chancellor said. Endi