Mutual benefit should be the key to sustainable Sino-German cooperation: China Daily editorial

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's five-day state visit to China, beginning on Tuesday, is his first trip to the country in nearly eight years. As unilateralism and de-globalization pressures mount, the visit offers both sides an opportunity to stabilize bilateral ties and to send a clear signal that dialogue and cooperation remain the right path forward.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning noted, China hopes to work with the German side to take this visit as an opportunity to cement mutual trust, deepen cooperation and seek joint innovation, so as to make greater progress in bilateral ties, contribute to the steady and sustained growth of China-Europe relations, and bring fresh energy to the world.

The development of China-Germany relations over the past decades shows that mutual respect and mutual trust are the bedrock of a stable relationship, and mutual benefit is the key to successful cooperation. Beijing and Berlin have every reason to continue to pump stability and vitality into their time-honored, reciprocal relations. The two countries should therefore step up their strategic communication, enhance mutual trust, and deepen practical cooperation.

Strengthening mutually beneficial China-Germany cooperation serves the interests of both sides and the world. The progress achieved so far should be cherished and built upon, with cooperation deepened and substantiated to produce new results.

The economic logic for this is compelling. China has been Germany's largest trading partner for nine of the past 10 years, and bilateral trade has remained above $200 billion annually since 2021.

A survey by the German Chamber of Commerce in China in December last year found that 93 percent of German companies intend to maintain or expand their presence in China, and nearly two-thirds view Chinese partners as indispensable strategic pillars.

For over two decades, German enterprises have been major beneficiaries of China's open market, complete supply chains and relatively low production costs, reaping substantial profits. German companies have long treated China not only as a market but as a hub for innovation, with companies such as BASF and Merck establishing R&D and manufacturing clusters in the country, indicating steadily deepening industrial ties. The innovation gains in China are now feeding back into German headquarters, driving product upgrades on a global scale.

As a major member of the European Union, Germany can also contribute to closer China-EU ties through its mutually beneficial cooperation with China. Beijing and Brussels have reached understandings during their trade and investment consultations in Beijing earlier this month, narrowly avoiding a trade war, at least for now.

In his remarks at the Berlin Global Dialogue last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that "we do not want a trade war with China", and that "China is very competitive, and we have to respect the success of China in research and development". However, he also highlighted measures the EU was considering to address what it viewed as "unfair trade practices".

This duality is evident in Germany's recent approach toward China. On the one hand, there is a desire to build upon previous economic and trade cooperation with China. On the other hand, there is enthusiasm for aligning with some politicians in Brussels to advocate for restrictive trade measures against China.

For its part, China has consistently maintained that both sides should work in the same direction to find solutions to each other's concerns through dialogue and consultation. The 16-point agreement reached between China and the EU in their consultations in Beijing this month shows the benefits of finding common ground.

Steinmeier's visit provides an opportunity for the two sides to recalibrate and reaffirm key elements that have kept China-Germany ties on a steady course: mutual respect, practical cooperation and a shared commitment to an open world economy. In these turbulent times, the two countries can and should serve as anchors of stability.

Berlin should meet Beijing halfway to jointly steer bilateral cooperation onto a more stable and healthy terrain. It should also encourage Brussels to uphold free trade, reject protectionism, and stay on the right path of openness, cooperation, dialogue and consultation.