A China-Europe Railway Express train carrying 88 standard containers of home appliances and medical supplies departs from the Hefei North Train Station, East China's Anhui Province on Thursday, en route to Duisburg, Germany. It's estimated that China-Europe Railway Express trains to and from Hefei will exceed 500 in 2020, up 48.5 percent year-on-year. Photo: cnsphoto

China is willing to strengthen vaccine exchange and cooperation with Germany to promote the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines as a global public good, especially to benefit developing countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday.

China is actively building a new development pattern that features expanding domestic demand and wider opening-up, which will bring new opportunities to Germany's growth. It is hoped that a new round of consultations between Chinese and German governments will establish the layout of cooperation between the two nations in various fields, Xi said.

China-Europe cooperation is more global and strategic amid a complex international situation. The two sides should enhance mutual trust and cooperation, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, safeguard multilateralism, and try to improve global governance, he said.

China is willing to continue close communication with the European side on the next stage of the main agenda, strive to promote the completion of negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) on schedule, promote the construction of China-EU environmental and climate efforts, and support digital dialogue mechanisms.

Merkel expressed the hope that the two sides will strengthen communication on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation and promote their partnership in bilateral trade and investment, new-energy vehicles and other fields.

Germany congratulated China on signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement with regional economies, and hoped to make efforts with China to achieve the completion of the China-EU BIT within this year.

If the BIT can be signed, it will be a win-win deal for China and the EU, and also the whole world. Both sides should uphold multilateralism and free trade to make reasonable bargains and seize the limited window of time, experts said.

China and the EU held the 34th round of BIT negotiations last week, and they expect to make progress during incoming in-depth consultations on some remaining issues, Gao Feng, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, said last Thursday.

Germany has been China's biggest trading partner in Europe for more than 40 years. China-Germany trade accounts for about 30 percent of China-EU trade.