Li's Germany tour to enhance bilateral partnership(3)

EXPANDING ECONOMIC COOPERATION

"Economic cooperation is a cornerstone of the bilateral relationship between China and Germany," Feng said.

China is Germany's largest trade partner in the Asia-Pacific region while Germany is China's largest trade partner in Europe. Bilateral trade reached 161.13 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, accounting for 29.5 percent of China-EU trade.

The rapid growth of bilateral trade during the past 20 years and the increasingly closer economic ties between Germany and China has lifted their economic interdependence to an unprecedented level.

That's according to a study published by the Bertelsmann Foundation, a German think tank.

"The Germany-made machinery products play a key role in China's industry, while China is the most important supplier of consumer goods to Germany," said Helmut Hauschild, director of the foundation's Germany and Asia Program.

"This high level of interdependence gives a strong impetus to the governments of both countries to make even greater efforts to forge closer cooperation to create the market's openness and equal condition of competition for both German and Chinese firms," Hauschild said.

The foundation expected that by the year 2020, Chinese investment in Germany would be tripled from its 2012 level to 2.1 billion dollars.

The rapid growth of Chinese investment has helped protect vulnerable jobs in insolvent companies and created new opportunities in Germany, the foundation noted.

Germany and China during Li's visit will sign a series of documents regarding cooperation in manufacturing, investment, finance and urbanization.

"The bilateral cooperation is robust in various areas," Song said, adding that it is the consensus of the two countries' leaders to expand practical cooperation and advance the strategic partnership.