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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Germany and Belgium, and attended the 19th China-EU Summit in Brussels from May 31 to June 2. Li’s Europe visit is intended to help propel the China-EU relationship to a new height.
Li began his two-state visit on May 31, arriving in Berlin for a meeting with the German chancellor.
The outcomes of the meeting with Angela Merkel were released on June 1, and included confirmation that the two sides will jointly support the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and that Germany hopes the EU can find solutions such as amending laws to honor its obligations under Article 15 of the protocol on China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
According to Article 15, WTO members should have stopped using the surrogate country approach to assess whether China is committing dumping by December 11, 2016.
China is ready to forge a closer innovative partnership with Germany, Li said at a bilateral forum on innovation cooperation on June 1.
Li then paid an official visit to Belgium. During his meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, Li said China is willing to work with Belgium to promote people-to-people exchanges, coordination in international and regional affairs, and trust-building and cooperation in key areas.
China hopes Belgium can play a positive role in prompting the EU to fulfill its obligations under the WTO system, Li said.
Michel, for his part, said his country highly values China as a partner and is willing to work with it to promote global peace and stability. International rules must be obeyed and promises should be fulfilled, he said, adding that Belgium is ready to play its role.
During his stay in Brussels, the Chinese premier attended the 12th EU-China Business Summit, and co-chaired the 19th China-EU leaders’ meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Li and the European leaders reaffirmed their commitment to developing a stable relationship between China and the European Union (EU) in face of growing global uncertainties.
The two sides have sent out positive signals to the world with their resolutions to champion free trade and globalization, and to carry forward the global fight against climate change, despite recent setbacks.
