Premier Li, German president pledge to safeguard free trade

China and Germany agreed to take real actions to send a signal of firmly safeguarding multilateralism and free trade, while the two sides should strengthen cooperation in diverse fields, Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday in Berlin.

Li made the comment when meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his fourth trip to the European country as premier.

The premier said the two countries have maintained high-level development in bilateral relations. The fifth China-Germany intergovernmental consultation earlier on Monday set a roadmap for bilateral ties in the next stage, he said. Setting trade barriers is an outdated action in the 21st century and China would like to strengthen high-level exchanges with Germany to set an example of seeking common ground while reserving differences, and maximizing common interests, Li added.

Steinmeier congratulated on achievements made at the fifth intergovernmental consultation. As two large trading countries, both countries do not want to see free trade being threatened, he said.

All countries should be committed to finding consensuses and adopting more insightful and visionary policies to safeguard free trade, which has been productive over the years, and promote shared development and prosperity, the president added.