German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets the Chinese delegation before holding talks with Vice-Premier Liu Yandong in Berlin on Friday. (Photo by Fu Jing/chinadaily.com.cn)
China and Germany have vowed to work closely to ensure next year's G20 leaders summit in Hamburg is as successful as the fruitful meeting hosted by China in Hangzhou in September.
Such commitments were expressed during a meeting between Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday.
The meeting was part of Liu's three-day visit to Germany to boost bilateral cooperation on education, cultures, sports, science and innovation.
"In a few days, Germany will be taking over G20 presidency and China is willing to cooperate with Germany to deliver the same successful G20 summit," Liu said.
Germany will take over the presidency on Dec 1, marking the end of China's year at the helm. Merkel, who visited China in June and September this year, congratulated China for its successfully hosting the G20 summit in Hangzhou.
"I am looking forward to President Xi Jinping's visit to Germany attending the Hamburg summit next year and I expect closer cooperation with China to achieve success," Merkel said.
Liu said the frequent high-level exchanges between China and Germany have boosted mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation.
She said her visit aims to deepen people-to-people exchanges, which have been agreed between Merkel and Chinese leaders.
"China is willing to work with Germany to set up high-level people-to-people exchange mechanism as soon as possible to promote cooperation in education, technology and science, cultures, sports and football," Liu said.
Merkel responded that she is very happy to promote people-to-people exchanges, especially among German and Chinese young people.
China has already set up high-level exchange mechanisms with Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Indonesia and the European Union. The platforms are chaired by Liu.
