, Columnist
China's Xi Singles Out Germany as Global Ally in Pre-G-20 Op-Ed
- Chinese president due in Berlin for advance talks with Merkel
- With U.S. retreating, Xi cites Germany as strategic partner
Xi Jinping and Angela Merkel.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping called for closer cooperation with Germany in shaping the global order, marking out Chancellor Angela Merkel as an ally on free trade at this week’s Group of 20 summit.
“The strategic character of Chinese-German relations is steadily gaining in importance,” Xi said in an op-ed article published Tuesday in German newspaper Die Welt, citing data showing that China became Germany’s most important trade partner in 2016. “We hope that the G-20 will continue to uphold the great goal of an open world economy.”