Global ties vital to fight coronavirus

In his telephone conversation with Merkel, Xi said China and Germany shoulder important responsibilities given the increasingly unstable world situation. He expressed the hope that China and Germany could become partners who depend on each other despite their ideological differences.

Saying that the Chinese market keeps growing, Xi told Merkel that China's economic and trade cooperation with relevant countries will not impact on the interests of its other trade partners, including Germany and the EU. China hopes Germany will continue to create a level-playing field for Chinese companies, Xi said.

Merkel said her country is happy about China's agreement with the United States on the phase-one trade deals. She said German's market will continue to open to China and her country will treat foreign companies in a fair manner, including Chinese companies.

Merkel said her country stands ready to have close communication with China in the hope that positive progress will be made in the EU-China Investment Agreement, jointly dealing with climate change and the third-country market cooperation. Cooperation between China and Central and East European countries is an important part of EU-China cooperation, she added.

Xi also exchanged views with Macron and Merkel on major international and regional issues, including the Iran nuclear issue.