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Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Germany on Friday, October 30, 2026, to pursue a "rational, pragmatic and friendly" policy toward China, using talks in Beijing with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to push for closer ties despite growing trade frictions between Beijing and Europe.
Xi said China hopes Germany can adhere to such a policy and that the European Union can work with China in the same direction. China has always viewed the EU as a partner and has developed ties with the bloc "in a spirit of sincerity and goodwill," he said, adding that cooperation outweighs competition and consensus outweighs differences in China-EU relations.
"As long as China and the EU uphold a partnership positioning and adhere to equal dialogue, differences and problems can always be resolved," Xi said.
Xi welcomed what he called a new chapter in relations between the two countries and expressed support for an "all-dimensional strategic partnership" based on equality, mutual benefit and strategic stability. "This new paradigm sends a positive signal to the world: we favour openness over closure, and cooperation over confrontation," he told Steinmeier.
Xi added that China's policy toward Germany is consistent, stable and predictable, and that Beijing is happy to see Germany play a greater role in European and international affairs. Steinmeier reaffirmed Germany's commitment to the one-China policy and called for cooperation with Beijing on global peace, free trade and international law.
The meeting came during Steinmeier's five-day visit to China. A day earlier, Steinmeier warned at Peking University that China's drive for greater economic self-sufficiency should not come at the expense of other markets, arguing that China must not create one-sided dependence in other markets. Brussels has warned it will use every possible means to remedy its widening trade deficit with China, and Germany, along with France, has proposed that the EU enact a new rapid-action measure against countries that harm it, with China likely in focus.
Also on Friday, Xi met Swiss President Guy Parmelin in Beijing as the two countries signed a protocol upgrading their free trade agreement, removing tariffs on almost all Swiss exports to China over the next ten years.