Chinese Premier and German Chancellor Agree on Supply Chain Stability

22 Jun 2023

Premier Li Qiang and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have agreed that the two countries should work together to maintain stability in global production and supply chains.

During the seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation in Berlin on Tuesday, Li and Scholz agreed that cooperation between the two countries is “solidly based and dynamic” and the two countries should “deepen cooperation at a higher level, with higher standards and higher quality, and jointly maintain the stability of global production and supply chains,” according to a foreign ministry statement.

Both sides agreed to cooperate more on trade, investment, automobile manufacturing, advanced technology, new energy, the digital economy and the humanities, the statement said.

They also agreed to set up a mechanism for dialogue and cooperation on climate change and the green transition, and to hold a new session of the China-Germany High Level Financial Dialogue, according to the statement.

The background: The meeting comes as Li is on his first trip abroad as premier to attend talks in Germany and France. The European countries, as well as several others such as the U.S., have announced they will reduce their over-reliance on China for raw materials, as they seek to “de-risk” from the world’s second-largest economy.

At a seminar with the German business community on Monday, Li said he hopes Chinese and German entrepreneurs will “maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains through high-quality and high-level practical cooperation,” according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.