China's top political advisor calls for closer Sino-German ties

China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin called for closer Sino-German partnership in advent of 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year while meeting German President Christian Wulff on Monday. Conveying the cordial greetings and sincere wishes by Chinese President Hu Jintao, Jia, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, said that the current Sino-German relations, one of the most fruitful ties between China and Europe, are on a sound track. As strategic partners of each other, further cooperation between China and Germany would be in the interest of both sides and the world, Jia continued. The relations between China and Germany have entered a new phase, Jia said, urging both sides to keep even closer contacts at high levels, and exchange views and coordinate stands in time on bilateral relations and international affairs. He urged the two sides to expand bilateral trades, invest and promote each other in a bid to enhance common growth. Jia also called on both sides to take the 40th anniversary of Sino-German diplomatic ties as an opportunity to bring forward human and cultural exchanges with unremitting efforts, primarily based upon the Chinese Culture Year and a number of other relevant activities. Both China and Germany ought to further strengthen the multilateral cooperation within the framework of United Nations, G20, etc, to jointly cope with the common global challenge, Jia said. Sino-European cooperation boasted solid foundation, immense potentials and promising prospect, Jia said, as China and the European Union (EU) are vital forces in maintaining world peace and enhancing common development, while both face their respective challenge of economic and social sustainable developments. As a prominent member of the EU, Germany assumed pivotal role inside the bloc and China-EU cooperation, Jia said, adding that China is willing to join in hands with Germany to enhance the overall Sino-EU strategic partnership to a higher standard and contribute to the everlasting peace and common prosperity of the world. He noted that China appreciates eurozone countries' efforts aimed at solving the sovereign debts crisis, and put full credit in the EU for its ability to overcome current difficulty, restore financial stability, and realize a stable and steady development of its economy. Wulff expressed thanks to greeting from President Hu. He voiced full consent to the suggestion by Chairman Jia on the development of bilateral relations, saying that as a completely reliable partner of China, Germany has attached great importance to its ties with China. Wulff said Germany has been satisfied with the robust economic growth between the two countries and highly appreciative of the positive role China has played in overcoming the negative impacts by the international financial crisis and stabilizing the world economy. Germany would take the opportunity of 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties establishment next year to elevate the bilateral relations to higher level with serial activities of China Culture Year, Wulff said. Noting that the EU already made important decisions on the current eurozone debts crisis, Wulff hoped China would continue to play a constructive role in helping Europe shed off the negative impact of current economic crisis and give impetus to the stability and recovery of the world economy. Germany is the last stop of Jia's three-nation European tour, which has already taken him to Greece and the Netherlands.