BEIJING / BERLIN (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday that he saw “several challenges” in China-EU relations and hoped the EU could pass “independently” trials. a statement from the Chinese government.
The statement quoted Xi during a phone call that the EU and China should respect each other and “eliminate interference”, adding that China is willing to work with the world community to promote a “fair and reasonable distribution” of COVID-19 vaccines and opposes vaccine nationalism.
Last month, the EU imposed its first major sanctions on Chinese officials since 1989 for alleged human rights abuses in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Beijing, which denies the allegations, has been blacklisted by some EU lawmakers and entities.
The United States, Britain and Canada also sanctioned Chinese officials for Xinjiang, and the row threatens to derail an EU-China investment pact agreed in late 2020 after years of negotiations.
German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said Merkel and Xi had discussed international efforts to produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, deepen economic cooperation and take measures to protect the climate and biodiversity.
He said the leaders agreed to deepen bilateral ties in the Sino-German government consultations scheduled for the end of April.
“The chancellor stressed the importance of dialogue on the full range of ties, including issues on which there are different opinions,” Demmer said, without giving details of areas where Germany and China differ.
Beijing and Michael Nienaber editorial reports in Berlin; writing by Tom Daly; Edited by Andrew Heavens, Steve Orlofsky and Timothy Heritage