China and Germany agree to deepen financial cooperation, policies

World Today

China and Germany have agreed to allow more access to their financial markets, part of agreements signed between the two sides Friday.

CGTN’s Zou Yun reports on the two-day meeting.

China and Germany have agreed to coordinate more closely on financial policies on Friday at a high-level financial dialogue in Beijing. 

The event was co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.  

Liu He said this is the countries’ first high-level financial dialogue since China and Germany formed new governments. The dialogue is meant to tighten communication as the global economy shows signs of slowing and markets are seeing greater volatility. 

Both sides reaffirmed the strengthening of macroeconomic policy coordination and pragmatic cooperation on major bilateral and international economic and financial issues, as well as improving the playing field for investment.

“We have agreed to ensure an unbiased and open market environment, a stable institutional framework, and reduced barriers for market access, to bring about tangible improvements to the business environment,” Liu said. 

German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said Germany is willing to cooperate with China. He emphasized the importance of reciprocity in terms of market access for banks and insurance companies. 

He also said that amid global uncertainties such as Brexit and trade disputes, multilateralism is the key. 

“To deal with those challenges, both sides have agreed to support multilateralism. It would hurt the interests of other countries if one country were only to care about its own interests. Therefore, we believe cooperation and mutual trust are important in our relations,” he said. 

During the dialogue, China and Germany also signed MOUs on central banking and financial regulation.

The financial forum is one of the three major high-level dialogue mechanisms between China and Germany. Enhanced economic and financial cooperation between two of the most important economies in the world is expected to contribute to global policy coordination. 


Dan McClory on increased China-Germany financial cooperation

To learn more about the prospects for strengthening financial ties between Germany and China, CGTN’s Elaine Reyes spoke with Dan McClory, managing director and Head of China at Boustead Securities.