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Both countries advocate upholding multilateralism and joining forces against the pandemic.
China’s President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that his country stands ready to strengthen cooperation with Germany on COVID-19 vaccines and push for the vaccines to be fairly distributed as a global public good.
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Xi made the remarks in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Recalling that he and Merkel both attended the Group of 20 summit days ago, Xi noted that both sides advocate upholding multilateralism, boosting international cooperation, and joining forces against the coronavirus disease.
Currently, with Europe and some other regions in the world facing the test of a second wave of the pandemic, it remains a top priority for all parties to work together to fight the epidemic, Xi stressed.
Since the onset of the pandemic, China and Germany have kept communication in a flexible way, with practical cooperation continuing to advance.
China is actively fostering a new development pattern and steadfastly expanding domestic demand and opening-up, which will bring new opportunities to Germany, Xi pointed out.
He suggested that the two sides maintain mutual respect and always stick to the overall direction of dialogue and cooperation as well as the general principle of mutual benefit.
The status of China's vaccines as of November 25. The map includes countries who have formally purchased, set to purchase or are already using the vaccine. It does not include countries who are involved in clinical trials only. I will update it as new developments emerge. pic.twitter.com/zkzAsItQLR
— Tom Fowdy (@Tom_Fowdy) November 25, 2020
For her part, Merkel noted that the world is undergoing profound changes and that Europe is facing the impact of a second wave of the pandemic.
The fact that China has done a good job in COVID-19 prevention and control and taken the lead in economic recovery is good news for German enterprises, she said, expressing the hope that the two sides will increase communication on vaccine cooperation and push forward cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, and new-energy vehicles.
The German side congratulates China on having signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal with relevant parties and hopes to step up efforts with China to push for concluding negotiations on the EU-China investment treaty by the end of this year.
Germany stands ready to continue to maintain close communication with China over major Germany-China and EU-China political agendas for the next phase, she said, adding that she will stay committed to pushing for sustained and sound development of Germany-China and EU-China relations.
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