German Ambassador to China Michael Clauss. Photo: Courtesy of the German Embassy

German Ambassador to China Michael Clauss, who attended the opening session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) since he took office in 2013, follows the plenary session in order to get an idea to what extent the NPC will advance China's reform, especially in the field of the rule of law, Clauss said in an e-mail interview with the Global Times Tuesday.

Germany pays close attention to China's moves of further opening up, and policies laid out in Premier Li Keqiang's government work report that may point to the policy direction, he said.

"Premier Li Keqiang's remarks on further easing foreign investment, i.e. the investment catalogue and law, were very important. I hope that relevant government departments will follow this up without delay. Foreign companies need clear laws and equal treatment more than ever if they are to bring more high-tech and research investments to China," he said.

"China faces the formidable challenge to restructure the economy and to maintain a relatively high level of growth at the same time. Reform of State enterprises will be a crucial yardstick to see how far the leadership is willing to go towards a true market economy. This will not be possible without a certain slowdown in growth but it will bring long-term rewards for growth in the future," said the ambassador.

Germany follows the "One Belt, One Road" initiative of China closely and sees great potential in this initiative to increase stability and prosperity, he said. "With regard to Europe, I hope that Europe-China relations will receive fresh energy with this year's summit in Brussels and that China will focus on forging a consensus with the EU as a whole."