Chinese Premier: "Discrimination Against China Under the Pretext of De-risking Violates Principles"

Li Chang, China's second-in-command, who visited Germany on his first overseas trip since taking office, warned against discrimination against his country under the pretext of "de-risking."

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on the 21st (local time), Premier Li warned at the Germany-China Economic Forum held in Berlin the previous day, "If discriminatory measures are enforced to suppress or exclude other countries under the name of de-risking, it goes against market principles, fair competition, and the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO)."

FAZ analyzed that China made this statement anticipating that the German government might join in regulations against China.

Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of China
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 15th, Germany announced its first-ever National Security Strategy, stating that it prefers de-risking rather than decoupling (such as supply chain separation) from China. De-risking refers to a strategy aimed at reducing excessive economic dependence on China to mitigate potential risks, instead of completely severing relations.

Prior to this, Premier Li held the 7th China-Germany government negotiations in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, stating, "China and Germany should join hands and cooperate to contribute to world peace and development, play a stabilizing role during this period of change, and accelerate the building of a community with a shared future for mankind." He added, "We must strengthen global governance cooperation, ensure the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and promote the rapid recovery of the world economy," expressing his intention to enhance cooperation with Germany in the field of eco-friendly energy.

In response, Chancellor Scholz replied, "Germany will maintain close communication on all agendas between the two countries and jointly address global challenges such as climate change and food security."

Meanwhile, the two countries signed a document outlining cooperation in areas including climate change, innovation, advanced manufacturing, and vocational education.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.