China urges green access to Ukraine grains exports

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday urged the international community to advance a ceasefire in Ukraine to provide a green access to its grains exports.

Wang made the remarks during a video conversation with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

China is willing to maintain coordination with various parties to help address the food crisis, he said, adding that China has constantly provided emergency food aid to countries in need.

‘To inject more stability into world’

Wang said the trumpet of decoupling serves no one’s interests since both China and Germany are beneficiaries and contributors of globalization.

Noting the global challenges brought about by a combination of the geopolitical crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of vitality in the world economic recovery, Wang said China and Germany should strengthen strategic coordination to inject more stability and positive energy into the world.

Baerbock said Germany supports multilateralism and is committed to improving Europe’s strategic autonomy.

‘Pragmatic cooperation’

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Germany ties. Wang said that over the past five decades, the two countries have adhered to the concept of seeking common ground while reserving differences, mutual benefit and win-win results, and deepened cooperation in various fields.

The all-round strategic partnership between the two countries has become an important stabilizing factor in today’s world, Wang said, adding that the sound and steady development of China-Germany relations serves the interests of both sides and helps the two countries play a positive role in maintaining world peace, stability and development.

He said that the two countries should make good use of the government consultation mechanism, advance high-level dialogues on strategy, security, finance and people-to-people exchange, and strengthen exchanges among local governments and the youth as well as educational and cultural exchanges.

Wang pointed out that China and Germany have been deeply involved in each other’s development over the past 50 years, which has been beneficial to both. China has been Germany’s largest trading partner for six consecutive years, and Germany is China’s largest trading partner in Europe.

“China is willing to deepen cooperation with Germany in traditional fields and expand cooperation in emerging fields such as intelligent manufacturing, information and communication, service trade and new-energy vehicles to foster new growth drivers for the two countries,” said Wang.

Baerbock said Germany regards China as an important partner for cooperation and is formulating a new strategy toward the country.

Germany is willing to maintain interactions with China at various levels, strengthen cooperation on environmental governance, climate change and pandemic response, and facilitate personnel exchanges, she added.

Wang said China hopes that Germany’s new strategy toward China will remain active and pragmatic, with foreseeable positive results, and conducive to greater development of bilateral ties.

On issues of global significance, Wang said China and Germany, as two major countries, should further strengthen strategic communication, make joint efforts and inject more stability and positive energy into the world.

He said the two countries should explicitly uphold true multilateralism and maintain the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the international law and basic norms governing international relations.

Baerbock said Germany supports multilateralism and is firmly committed to strengthening European strategic autonomy.