A cargo container of China Railway Express is loaded onto a truck at Eurokombi terminal in Hamburg, Germany, on May 29, 2018.Photo:Xinhua

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China and Germany have common interests in terms of economic and trade cooperation, according to a press release from the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

Wang made the remark when he was addressing an economic dialogue between two Chinese provinces and the state of Bavaria in Germany on Thursday. 

China and Germany have established multi-layered and broad economic and trade cooperation, the minister said, urging that the current positive situation based on complementarities and mutual benefits should be protected.

Wang said China's new development paradigm will offer world economies, including Germany, a wider market and more opportunities. 

China and the EU have completed negotiations on the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) as scheduled, as well as inking a China-EU geographical indications agreement, and forging a green and digital partnership, Wang said, noting that such efforts have laid solid institutional foundations for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. 

Due to different civilizations and social systems, differences should be managed in a reasonable manner, said the minister.

The minister's remarks came at a time of rising friction between China and the EU over Lithuania's stance on the island of Taiwan and other issues in trade and investment.

The European Parliament passed a motion to freeze discussions on the EU-China CAI in May after its sanctions against China prompted counter sanctions.

Due to tighter EU scrutiny and the pandemic, China's investment in Europe hit the lowest level in a decade in 2020, declining 45 percent to 6.5 billion euros ($7.77 billion), a report by US-based research consultancy Rhodium Group showed in June. The report predicted that the trend may continue this year.

The economic dialogue was held between officials from Bavaria and East China's Shandong Province and South China's Guangdong Province. 

China is Bavaria's most important trading partner, with nearly 1,500 Bavarian companies engaging in cooperation with Chinese counterparts.

Global Times