Shu Jueting, spokesperson from China's Ministry of Commerce

China hopes the Germany will listen to opinions from its businesses after the German economic minister hyped up cutting reliance on China, China's Ministry of Commence (MOFCOM) said on Thursday, urging the German government not to create barriers between the two countries. 

It is hoped that the German side will uphold a rational and pragmatic stance on its trade policies toward China, listen more to voices from its companies, safeguard the interests of the cooperation between enterprises of the two countries, Shu Jueting, a MOFCOM spokesperson said.

The comment came as German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said in a meeting with his G7 counterparts last week that "the naivety toward China is over."

He said that Berlin has been working on a new trade policy related to China to reduce dependence on Chinese raw materials, batteries and semiconductors, according to Reuters.

China and Germany are key trading and investment partners, and the China-Germany industrial chain and supply chain has achieved deep integration, Shu said. 

Official data showed that the trade volume between China and Germany reached $155 billion in the first eight months of this year and continues to grow. To date, the stock of two-way investment has exceeded $55 billion.

Such close economic ties between China and Germany are the result of the development of globalization and the laws of the market, Shu said, highlighting that the complementary advantages of each economy are beneficial to the enterprises and people of the two countries.

China will unswervingly promote high-level opening-up, continuously foster a market-oriented, legalized and internationalized business environment, and create better conditions for expanding trade cooperation with countries including Germany, Shu added. 

Although some German politicians are hyping concerns about the close China-Germany economic and trade relationship, many German multinationals continue to expand their presence in China to pursue more growth opportunities.

On September 6, German chemical giant BASF's Verbund site in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province entered full-scale construction phase. With a total investment of about 10 billion euros ($9.93 billion), the plant will be the third-largest BASF site in the world, and the largest single investment project by a German enterprise in China, Xinhua News Agency reported.

German pharmaceutical giant Merck has also opened its first biological testing center in China in Shanghai, the company said on Wednesday. With an investment of 29 million euros ($28.6 million) , the facility will meet local drug makers' research and development needs.

Global Times