Chinese premier urges not to equate interdependence with insecurity

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday urged the German business community to not equate interdependence with insecurity.

He made the remarks while attending a seminar in German capital Berlin with the representatives of German companies including Siemens, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Schaeffler, BASF, Covestro, Wacker Chemie, Merck, SAP and Allianz.

Li said enterprises should be put back into the driving seat in terms of risk prevention, which is not an opposite of cooperation.

The seminar participants had open, candid and in-depth exchange of views on the current international economic and political situation, China's economic development, prospects of future technological development, and the "de-risking" and "cutting the degree of dependence" moves initiated by some countries.

After listening to the speeches of the representatives, the Chinese premier said that face-to-face communication can deepen understanding and trust between people.

In a world of turmoil and transformation, the more serious and complex the situation, the more necessary it is to think calmly and grasp certainty amid uncertainties, Li said.

He called for actively following the objective law and the underlying trend of the times, in particular the historical trend of economic globalization, the general trend of China's long-term economic development for the better, and the grand trend of win-win cooperation between China and Germany.

Confidence needs to be strengthened to overcome difficulties, Li said, calling for accelerating the recovery of the world economy through openness and cooperation.

Noting that it is understandable that all parties have their own security concerns, Li said that what is important is to reasonably define and guard against risks.

If not handled properly, risks can lead to bigger problems, he said, adding that enterprises have an acute sense of risks and know how to avoid them.

Failure to cooperate is the biggest risk, and failure to develop is the biggest insecurity, he noted.

With economic globalization, the world economy has become interconnected, which entails a dialectical view of dependence, Li said.

That means refraining from exaggerating the degree of dependence or even simply equating interdependence with insecurity, he added.

As for some specific problems, Li urged all parties to analyze them case by case, and jointly prevent and respond to them through consultation and cooperation.

Li expressed his hope that entrepreneurs from both countries could follow the trend and continue to pursue openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains through high-quality and high-level practical cooperation.

Premier Li called for seizing the opportunities and making prompt actions to push for more outcomes in cooperation in such emerging areas as innovation and green and low-carbon development, making the pie of the two countries' converging interests even bigger.

He also expected them to continue to serve as the envoy of the China-Germany friendship and make greater contributions to the well-being of their people, the development of bilateral ties, and the friendly cooperation between China and Europe.

Noting that Germany and China are close cooperation partners, German business representatives said that great success has been achieved with the deepening of the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

To eliminate risks, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation, and decoupling will not work, they said.

The German business community is optimistic about China's economic outlook and has every confidence in China, they added.

Expressing their belief that China will adhere to opening up, they said that they are ready to continue to increase investment in China and deeply exploit the Chinese market.

They also noted that they are willing to further deepen Germany-China cooperation in coping with climate change, strengthening research and development capabilities, and advancing digital transformation, so as to achieve manufacturing in China, research and development with China, and win-win with China.

(CGTN)