BERLIN — Visiting Vice-Premier Liu Yandong agreed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel here on Nov 25 to set up a high-level cultural exchange mechanism at the earliest possible date.

The vice-premier was in the German capital to take part in the seventh Hamburg Summit, held on Nov 23-24, and the closing ceremony of the 2016 Sino-German Youth Exchange Year.

Liu said China is willing to work with Germany for the formal establishment of a high-level cultural exchange mechanism as soon as possible.

Vice-Premier Liu Yandong meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Germany, on Nov 25, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

Establishing such a mechanism will promote the Sino-German exchanges and cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture and sports, she added.

Merkel echoed by saying that Germany supports building such a mechanism, adding that bilateral youth exchanges should be enhanced.

The German chancellor also congratulated on China’s successful host of the Hangzhou Group of 20 (G20) summit and expressed her expectations to meet President Xi Jinping during the Hamburg G20 summit next year.

She also expressed Germany’s willingness to help China in improving the performance of the soccer players.

Before the meeting, Liu and Merkel took a group photo together with the representatives who signed the German-Chinese football cooperation agreement.

Initiated by Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the biennial Hamburg summit serves as an important platform for discussing China-EU economic cooperation.