BERLIN — The first session of the Chinese-German strategic dialogue on diplomatic and security affairs was held in Berlin on Dec 19.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held in-depth talks on Dec 19 over a series of bilateral and international issues of common concerns.

Addressing a following joint press conference, Wang, who flew to Berlin together with his German counterpart after busy talks on Syria peace process in New York, said the China-Germany relations have gone beyond the bilateral scope regarding their impacts.

Holding the first session of Chinese-German strategic dialogue on diplomatic and security affairs, he noted, is a reflection of the all-round and high-level bilateral ties.

The minister said China is willing to enhance strategic mutual trust and conduct strategic cooperation with Germany, a European power and a country with significant international influence, in order to further promote the all-dimensional strategic partnership between the two countries.

The two sides, Wang added, should continue to maintain high-level exchanges, enrich the strategic connotation of bilateral cooperation, and promote cooperation within the framework of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative as well as exchanges in areas such as industrial innovation.

Steinmeier said the two sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields, to promote exchanges and cooperation on regional issues by holding regular dialogues, and to collaborate more closely with each other in tackling current crises.

He hailed the cooperation between Germany and China in multilateral frameworks, saying it not only has positive impacts on bilateral ties, but also has made significant contribution to solving regional hotspot issues.

Germany, added Steinmeier, is willing to strengthen its cooperation with China and ready to continue to play an active role in promoting the development of Europe-China relations.

The annual strategic dialogue was launched during an official visit of Premier Li Keqiang to Germany last year as part of an action plan with concrete efforts to forge a closer partnership between the two countries, aiming to enhance their bilateral coordination on foreign policy and security.