China and Germany should issue stable signals to the global market, Premier Li Keqiang told German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a phone call on Jan 25.

He acknowledged the bilateral cooperation over the past year and expressed willingness to help promote the 2017 G20 summit to be held in Hamburg.

The Premier expressed China’s support for European integration, stability and prosperity.

He also urged Germany to push the European Union to observe Article 15 of the Protocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of China.

According to Article 15, other WTO members are allowed, in anti-dumping cases, to compare the cost of China’s exports with that of a surrogate country (third country). This practice was maintained for 15 years and ended in 2016.

“Germany would like to maintain high-level exchanges with China in the coming next year,” Merkel said.

She urged both parties to deepen cooperation on economy and trade, new energy, electric vehicles, third-party markets and many other areas.

She also said they should work closely within the G20 framework, jointly sending out positive signals through multilateralism to solve global problems.

Merkel said that Germany appreciates China’s support for European integration and is willing to further push the EU to fulfill its commitments under the Protocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of China.

She hoped that the negotiations on the EU-China Investment Agreement will be completed as soon as possible.