ISTANBUL

Chinese Premier Li Qiang hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss bilateral and international cooperation.

Berlin and Beijing “are nearly 7,500 kilometers apart. For many years, we have been very happy to bridge this distance. For me, it is very important to maintain and deepen our diplomatic and economic relations,” Merz said on the US social media company X.

“To achieve this goal, we need open channels of dialogue,” he said after meeting Li, as the two sides also signed several agreements.

Merz arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for his first visit to the world’s second-largest economy since being elected last year.

During the visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry described Germany and China as “all-round strategic partners.”

China and Germany have "accumulated successful practices of healthy competition and integrated development. China-Germany cooperation is mutually beneficial and brings tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries," ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

Merz is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the trip. He is the third Western leader to visit China this year, following the visits of the Canadian and British prime ministers in January, both of whom were the first in many years.

Merz also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.

He also spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the phone last May.

The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1972 and the ties were upgraded in 2014 to an “all-round strategic partnership.”

In 2024, China became Germany’s second-largest global trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $201.88 billion, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.