A China-Europe freight train bound for Duisburg of Germany pulls out of the Wuhan terminal of China Railway Intermodal in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, March 28, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

China's Vice Foreign Minister met representatives of the German Chamber of Commerce in China (AHK) on Monday as the year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany.

Over the past 50 years, economic and trade cooperation has always been a stabilizing factor in China-Germany relations, said Deng Li, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Monday, according to a statement released on the ministry's website.

The German side expressed gratitude for China's long-term assistance to Volkswagen, Daimler and other German companies in China, as well as to the AHK.

AHK representatives included Stephan Wöllenstein, Chairperson of AHK and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, Jens Hildebrant, Executive Director of AHK (North China) and delegate, Chief Representative of Delegation of German Industry & Commerce in Beijing, and Hubertus Troska, President-elect of AHK and Chairman and CEO of Daimler Greater China.

"German companies, such as Volkswagen and Daimler, are deeply engaged in the Chinese market and have made positive contributions to the in-depth development of China-Germany cooperation. The AHK has long maintained close exchanges and cooperation with China and become an important bridge of communication between China and Germany," said Deng.

Deng noted that it is hoped that the AHK and German companies in China will continue to play an active role in deepening China-Germany cooperation, introduce to Europe and Germany the vitality and potential of the Chinese market, help Europeans from all walks of life view China in a correct way and add impetus to the development of China-Germany and China-EU relations.

"Since the outbreak of COVID-19, with China's full support, the 'fast track' between China and Germany has become the most stable and safest air route between the two countries, playing a key role for German companies to resume work and production in China," said a German representative.

In 2021, nearly 60 percent of German companies in China registered growth in their business and over 70 percent of German companies plan to increase investment in China in the next two years. This fully demonstrates the full confidence of German companies in the Chinese economy and market.

"We are ready to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Germany diplomatic relations as an opportunity to continue to serve as a bridge and make new contributions to deepening China-Germany and China-EU cooperation," the AHK remarked.

China has been Germany's largest trading partner for six consecutive years and China-Germany trade accounts for about 30 percent of China-EU trade, according to statistics. 

In 2021, China-EU trade in goods reached $828.1 billion, hitting a record high. In the first two months of 2022, the EU overtook ASEAN to become China's largest trading partner again.