A delegation led by German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel applauded Premier Li Keqiang during their meeting on May 24 in Beijing.

After accepting two signed football jerseys - a gift from German entrepreneurs - Premier Li expressed his gratitude, saying the German football team has its own cooperation and competition spirit.

“My acceptance of the gift shows my cheers for you, not only for the two clubs, but also for all the German football teams,” the Premier said, prompting appreciation and applause from the delegation.

Gabriel was in Beijing for the first meeting of the high-level China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue. Premier Li said he hopes entrepreneurs in both countries can establish closer cooperation for win-win development.

At the invitation of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Premier Li will pay an official visit to Germany for their annual meeting. He said the China-Germany relationship is stable and has become increasingly mature, and he hopes the meeting will send strong signals for supporting economic globalization and free trade, maintaining regional peace and stability, and promoting prosperous development.

“A stable and healthy China-Germany relationship is of positive significance for both nations, Europe and even the entire world,” he said, adding that as uncertain and unstable factors are still prominent in the current global political and economic climate, strengthening bilateral cooperation can not only achieve mutual benefits, but also play more positive roles in the global situation.

Premier Li said he hopes the two countries can promote in-depth pragmatic cooperation, especially between enterprises, and China is glad to expand two-way opening-up and enhance people-to-people exchanges.

Gabriel said that China and Germany enjoy solid relations, which should be cherished by both sides. Germany hopes to work with China to advance bilateral relations to a new stage, and prove that free trade is more powerful than protectionism, he said.

“Businesses among entrepreneurs are usually more serious, while the people-to-people exchange dialogue could make the contact more flexible and stable,” said Premier Li.

People-to-people exchanges, such as sports communication, can be meaningful, and the first meeting of the high-level China-Germany people-to-people exchange dialogue started a new chapter for cooperation between the two countries, Gabriel said.