Premier Li Keqiang had a video talk with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on June 11.

Catching the whole world off guard, COVID-19 impacted China-Germany exchanges. However, cooperation between both sides progressed nonstop, the Premier said.

China attaches substantial importance to China-Germany relations, Premier Li said, and is willing to deepen mutual trust in politics and strategies with Germany on a reciprocal basis.

China will stay a stickler for communication and negotiations and promote cooperation in economy, trade, investment, technologies, and other fields, in an effort to usher in new achievements in China-Germany relations.

Premier Li introduced China's epidemic prevention work at Merkel's request, praised Germany's efficient efforts in epidemic control, and expressed China's willingness to deepen exchanges in prevention experiences with Germany, along with cooperation in research and development in vaccines and drugs, in a bid to better serve the people of both sides.

Premier Li said that China and Germany should jointly safeguard multilateralism and propel free and convenient trade and investment to achieve economic resurrection.

China is making further efforts to enhance opening-up and is willing to provide a favorable business environment for enterprises of all nations, including Germany, he said.

He added that China and Germany should expand two-way opening-up, make the best of the shortcuts for personnel exchange, benefit business cooperation and resumption of production and business, and jointly uphold safe and stable industrial supply chains.

Premier Li said China has always supported European integration and is happy to see a united and prosperous European Union. The intensifying openness and cooperation between China and Germany and the EU is not makeshift, but is in accordance with mutual benefits and could achieve win-win, even all-win results, the Premier said.

Since Germany will hold the EU rotating presidency in the second half of this year, Premier Li said he expects the country’s active role to promote the development of China-EU relations.

China is willing to keep high-level exchanges and dialogues with the EU, and make the effort to complete the investment treaty negotiation as soon as possible, advancing cooperation in all fields, he said.

Merkel said China and Germany have maintained close high-level exchanges. China made great efforts in epidemic prevention and control, and the two countries also carried out good cooperation in the fight against COVID-19.

Germany welcomes China’s effort in expanding opening-up, and will advance bilateral cooperation at all fields, Merkel said, adding that Germany admires China’s decision to make the novel coronavirus vaccine in development a public product around the globe, and supports vaccine research institutions in the two countries to intensify the cooperation.

Merkel said that both Germany and China are supporters of multilateralism, and they should enhance communication and coordination in the affairs of the World Trade Organization.

As her country will lead the EU by taking its place in the rotating presidency in the second half this year, Germany will work with China to prepare for high-level exchanges between China and Europe, promote existing dialogues, and speed up negotiation on the China-EU investment agreement, she said.

Merkel added that the two nations also should enhance anti-epidemic cooperation among China, Europe, and Africa, and work for more progress in China-Germany and China-Europe relations.

Before the meeting, the two sides signed cooperation agreements via the remote link in staff training for small and medium-sized enterprises, investment cooperation between Jianghuai Automobile Group and Volkswagen, and an experimental power station between State Power Investment Corporation and Siemens.

State Councilor Wang Yi and He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, participated in the video talk.