China and Germany reassert close cooperation on climate and energy policy

The governments of China and Germany have vowed to intensify their joint efforts in global climate diplomacy and in upholding free trade, as well as in the development and rollout of energy transition technologies, the German government says in a press release. “We broke new ground,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after her meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Berlin, adding that deals like the construction of a new battery cell factory by Chinese company CATL in Germany demonstrate the maturing economic cooperation between the two countries in electric mobility and other fields. In a joint declaration, the two governments said they will back the focus of this year’s G20 host Argentina on climate action, and will work to make progress on the Paris Agreement at the COP24 in Poland. “We stress the importance of robust rules as a foundation for trust between the signatory states,” the joint declaration said. Sino-German cooperation, dubbed a “responsible partnership for a better world” in the declaration, will also be strengthened in climate and energy research, energy efficiency, renewable technologies, and the development of a Chinese emissions trading system.

Find the declaration and the press release in German here.

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