Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) in an informal interaction before the fourth round of China-Germany intergovernmental consultation before their meeting at the Summer Palace in Beijing, capital of China, June 12, 2016 [Xinhua]
A day after US President-elect Donald Trump questioned the four-decades old “One-China policy”, which has determined ties between Beijing and Washington, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that her country will remain committed to the current strategy.
“We continue to stand by the one-China policy and we will not change our position,” she said when asked by reporters late Monday.
Germany has maintained strong relations with China during Merkel’s 11-year tenure.
In June, she concluded her ninth visit to Beijing, during which she presided over the signing of some 96 agreements totaling $15 billion in trade.
During her last visit, Airbus Helicopters finalised an agreement to build an assembly line on a Sino-German business park in China and to sell 100 helicopters to a Chinese consortium.
Daimler AG and its Chinese partner BAIC Motor pledged to jointly invest 4 billion yuan ($608 million) to expand engine production.
Merkel has previously said that she favours, in principle, granting China market economy status at the World Trade Organization.
Under the agreement that led China to join the WTO in 2001, WTO members pledged to scrap in December 2016 a shortcut for applying a non-market economy standard in calculating anti-dumping duties on China.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
Source