Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent congratulatory letters on the groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant of BMW Brilliance Automotive in Tiexi, Shenyang, Northeast China’s Liaoning province, on Oct 11.

Premier Li said in his letter that BMW was the first beneficiary since China lifted restrictions over the proportion of foreign equity in the automobile industry, which started a new journey of integrated development of the automobile industries between the two sides.

Noting that this year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, Premier Li said China will open wider to the outside world and continue to relax market restrictions, to provide a better business environment that treats equally enterprises of all types of ownership as well as foreign and domestic-funded enterprises.

Premier Li said China welcomes foreign enterprises to expand cooperation with China for common development.

Merkel noted that she and Premier Li witnessed in July the signing of the framework agreement on cooperation between BMW and its Chinese partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, which sent out a clear signal that China and Germany have kept long-term development and share a partnership of win-win economic cooperation.

Merkel said Germany is happy to see China deepen reform and opening-up and relax market restrictions, and she hopes the two sides will join hands to achieve new results.