History and reality have repeatedly shown that for China and the EU, cooperation outweighs competition and consensus outweighs differences, Xi said.
He added that as long as both China and the EU stay committed to the positioning of their partnership and maintain the tone of equal-footed dialogue, differences and problems can be resolved and will not hinder further development of China-EU relations.
Xi also said China’s policy towards Germany is consistent, stable and predictable, and Beijing is happy to see Berlin play a greater role in European and international affairs.
Also on Friday, the president met with his Swiss counterpart Guy Parmelin in Beijing as the two countries signed a protocol on upgrading their free trade agreement.
The deal removes tariffs on almost all Swiss exports to the world’s second-largest economy.
It grants 99.8 percent of Swiss exports duty-free access to the Chinese market over the next 10 years, up from around half of Swiss shipments previously.
Duties will be eliminated on all imports of Swiss watches, of which only one percent were previously tariff-free, though producers will still have to pay China’s luxury consumption tax.
Swiss cheese and coffee, among other exports, will also see duties removed, bringing them in line with products such as chocolate and wine, which were already tariff-free.
The update also grants Switzerland greater access to the Chinese market in areas including manufacturing-related services, aircraft maintenance and maritime transport.
In exchange, it removes tariffs on 97.3 percent of Chinese agricultural exports to Switzerland, up from 80.1 percent prior.
“Together, we can inject valuable confidence and greater certainty into China-Europe economic and trade cooperation,” Xi told Parmelin.
The upgraded trade agreement bucks a broader global shift towards protectionism. Observers are eyeing the Swiss deal as a potential litmus test between Beijing and other European economies. (Xinhua and agencies)
