In Beijing, the grass is green and spring is full of spring. On the 16th, President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is on an official visit to China, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
The lens of the Xinhua News Agency reporter recorded the picture of the leaders of China and Germany walking and exchanging together——
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Haitao
Walking, as a relaxed diplomatic method, reflects the close relationship between countries and the deepening of exchanges between leaders. Meeting, walking, lunch...... President Xi Jinping had face-to-face exchanges with Chancellor Scholz for more than three hours on a wide range of topics such as the development of China-Germany relations, practical cooperation between the two sides, and international and regional hotspot issues.
Observing the interaction between the Chinese and German leaders, there are three outstanding feelings:
The first is "pilot orientation".
In 2014, President Xi Jinping paid his first state visit to Germany and jointly announced the establishment of a China-Germany all-round strategic partnership with German leaders. Over the past 10 years, under the common strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Germany relations have been developing steadily through the changes in the international situation.
After Scholz took office as German Chancellor, China and Germany continued to maintain close exchanges. In November 2022, Scholz visited China for the first time as German Chancellor, becoming the first Western leader to visit China after the conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. This time, he came to China again after a year and a half, and he became the first leader of a major Western country to visit China in 2024.
Over the years, the leaders of China and Germany have interacted closely and deepened mutual trust through flexible and diverse means, writing a good story in the history of Sino-German exchanges. President Xi Jinping's meeting with Chancellor Scholz at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and having a walk and lunch together is not only a continuation of the tradition of strategic communication between Chinese and German leaders in various ways, but also shows that both sides attach great importance to promoting the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations under the new situation.
In the face of the accelerating changes in the world, how to view and develop Sino-German relations from a long-term and strategic perspective?
"Both China and Germany have made significant contributions to the progress of human civilization", "There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Germany, and each other does not pose a security threat", "Sino-German cooperation is beneficial to both sides and the world", "As long as the two sides adhere to mutual respect, seek common ground while reserving differences, exchange and mutual learning, and win-win cooperation, the relations between the two countries will continue to be stable and far-reaching......
During the meeting, President Xi Jinping made an important exposition on the direction and principle of China-Germany exchanges, pointing out that it is necessary to "adhere to the main tone of cooperation and the general direction of development of China-Germany relations, and firmly grasp the positioning of China and Germany as all-round strategic partners", pointing out the path for the long-term development of China-Germany relations.
The second is "pragmatic cooperation".
Together, building a country with industry and pragmatism is the distinctive background of Sino-German cooperation. Germany has been China's largest trading partner in Europe for 49 consecutive years, China has maintained Germany's position as the world's largest trading partner for eight consecutive years, and according to German statistics, German investment in China will hit a record high in 2023...... A series of data fully reflects the resilience and vitality of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
In recent years, with the development of China and Germany and the changes in the international situation, China-Germany practical cooperation has also faced some new situations and new problems. What do you think? President Xi Jinping's remarks at the meeting are from a commanding height.
"The mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a 'risk', but a guarantee for the stability of the relationship between the two sides and an opportunity to create the future" "Whether it is traditional fields such as machinery manufacturing and automobiles, or emerging fields such as green transformation, digitalization and artificial intelligence, the two countries have great potential for win-win cooperation that needs to be tapped urgently" "Adhere to the market vision and global vision, start from the economic law, look at the issue of production capacity objectively and dialectically, and explore more cooperation"......
Keywords such as "opportunity", "potential" and "cooperation" fully show that in the view of the Chinese side, the space for mutual benefit and win-win results between China and Germany under the new situation is not smaller, but larger. The continuous advancement of Chinese-style modernization and high-quality development will not only benefit the Chinese people, but also bring more development opportunities to countries around the world, including Germany.
Chancellor Scholz's visit to China was accompanied by three cabinet ministers of the environment, agriculture and transport, and an economic delegation composed of heavyweight entrepreneurs visited Chongqing, Shanghai and Beijing, reflecting the general willingness of the German business community to deepen exchanges and cooperation with China.
"I have personally felt the tremendous achievements made in China's economic development in recent years, and I am deeply impressed by the close and good cooperation between the German and Chinese business circles" and "Germany is willing to continue to strengthen bilateral relations with China and deepen bilateral dialogue and cooperation in various fields," Chancellor Scholz said during his meeting with President Xi Jinping.
The third is "broad vision".
China is the world's largest developing country and the world's second largest economy, and Germany, an important member of the European Union, is the world's third largest economy. Such a volume and weight make the significance of consolidating and developing Sino-German relations go beyond the scope of bilateral relations and have an important impact on the Eurasian continent and the whole world.
Solving the various risks and challenges facing human society is inseparable from the cooperation of major countries. "China and Germany should independently carry out multilateral cooperation, and urge the international community to take concrete actions to better respond to global challenges such as climate change, unbalanced development, and regional conflicts, and make more contributions to the balance and stability of the world. "President Xi Jinping's speech demonstrates the vision and responsibility of a leader of a major country.
To promote an early and peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, President Xi Jinping proposed to grasp the principle of "four wants and four don'ts" during the meeting. The two sides expressed that China and Germany are committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, opposing the use of nuclear weapons or attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities, properly resolving international food security issues, and abiding by international humanitarian law. The two sides also reached consensus on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other issues.
The Central Foreign Affairs Work Conference held at the end of last year put forward two major proposals: "an equal and orderly multipolar world and economic globalization that benefits all." During his meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Xi Jinping pointed out that "China and Germany have a lot in common on the issue of world multipolarization" and "both support free trade and economic globalization", demonstrating the significant significance and strategic value of Sino-German cooperation.
China and Germany can work together to achieve each other. Walking through Diaoyutai, the leaders of China and Germany had in-depth exchanges on a series of major issues, injecting new impetus into the cooperation between the two countries in various fields and sending a positive signal to the world.
Curator: Zhang Xiaosong
Producer: Ju Peng
Authors: Yang Yijun, Wang Bin
统筹：刘华、吴晶晶、许晟
Visual: Li Tao, Zhang Huihui
Editors: Zhu Siming, He Xiao
In-house production by Xinhua News Agency
Produced by Xinhua News Agency No. 1 Studio