On August 30, 2012, Vice Premier Li Keqiang met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai.

Li Keqiang said that China and Germany will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties. With the joint efforts of both sides, Sino-German relations have been upgraded to a strategic partnership and have become the forerunner of the China-EU relations. The second round of Chinese-German intergovernmental consultations co-chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao and Chancellor Merkel brought forth new ideas and arrangements for bilateral pragmatic cooperation, and the two countries will seize the opportunity to implement the agreements already reached by proceeding from common interests and promote the long-term stable development of bilateral relations, according to Li.

As the two economies are at different stages and have strong complementarity, they enjoy great potential for cooperation, Li said. China and Germany should work together to expand bilateral trade, increase mutual investment, forester new highlights of cooperation and create a fair, competitive environment so as to achieve win-win development amidst the complicated international economic situation, Li said, stressing that the two countries should jointly oppose trade protectionism. The two countries should also expand cooperation in urbanization, social security, healthcare and other fields, as well as promote people-to-people exchanges so as to cement the public opinion basis of bilateral ties, he said.

China supports the European Union's efforts to deal with the debt problem, said the vice premier, pledging that China will continue to offer assistance within its ability and work with the international community to actively participate in resolving the issue through various channels.

Merkel said that China and Germany have maintained close ties, strengthened communication and coordination on major international and regional issues and actively pushed forward cooperation in various fields. Germany attaches great importance to developing Sino-German relations. Merkel said Germany appreciates China's positive signal and support in resolving the debt issue and is ready to work with China to push forward bilateral and EU-China relations.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and other officials attended the meeting.