China Germany Photo:VCG
TheMKsports China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) vowed to support and promote more competitive Chinese enterprises to commence business in Germany, and called for efforts from Germany to provide a more open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business climate.
The remark was made by CCPIT President Ren Hongbin during a China-Germany trade promotion event held in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, which gathered nearly 200 business representatives from both countries, the CCPIT's official social media account said on Tuesday.
China-Germany economic and trade cooperation serves as a model not only for the two countries but also for China-EU cooperation, Cui Hongjian, professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday, adding that building good relationship between Chinese and German enterprises might be one of the key tasks for the new government of Germany to recover the country's economic growth.
During the event, Ren prioritized China's recent action plan to stabilize foreign investment in 2025, and stated that the visit was intended to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and deepen pragmatic cooperation between the business communities of both sides.
The CCPIT hoped that the German side would ease export restrictions on high-tech products to China, and promote more optimized and balanced development of bilateral trade, said Ren, also noting that it will continue to provide opportunities for high-quality German products, such as automobiles and agricultural machinery, to enter the Chinese market.
The CCPIT will also promote bilateral collaboration in industrial and supply chains, and welcome more enterprises and institutions to participate in the 3rd China International Supply Chain Expo.
"Germany remains China's largest trading partner in Europe. Although there have been some ups and downs in recent years, the need for cooperation between the two sides in the economic and trade fields has never changed," said Cui.
Data from the German central bank showed that in the first half of 2024, Germany's total direct investment in China amounted to 7.3 billion euros（$7.64 billion）, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency. For the whole of 2024, actual investment from Germany into China saw a 2.2 percent year-on-year rise, data from China's Ministry of Commerce showed on January 26, 2025.
A three-day visit by the Chinese delegation, which began on Monday, will focus on economic and trade exchanges in the vehicle sector. Chinese business representatives will meet with corporate leaders from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, as well as key automotive suppliers like Bosch, which play a crucial role in the industry's supply chain, CCTV News reported on Monday.
Cui pointed out that Germany has a core competitive edge in the traditional automotive industry, while China enjoys a latecomer advantage in the field of electric vehicles. "How the two sides can better integrate these strengths, while avoiding a swirl of competitive conflict but rather serving as an opportunity for cooperation, will be the foundation of bilateral collaboration in future," he said.
In 2024, China-Germany trade totaled $201.88 billion, accounting for 25.7 percent of foreign trade between China and the EU. Germany remained China's biggest trade partner in the EU.
Moving forward, Cui said that there is wider scope for cooperation between China and Germany in some emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, while noting that it needs the governments of both sides to continuously optimize the policy environment to realize an open and inclusive bilateral relationship.
