Premier Li welcomed representatives from the centre-left SDP, one-third of Germany’s coalition government, to Beijing on Monday.
Beijing stands ready to propel its strategic partnership with Berlin to new heights, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said during a meeting with a delegation from the ruling German Social Democratic Party two weeks before his visit to Germany . Li welcomed representatives from the centre-left SDP, the largest party in Germany’s coalition government, to Beijing on Monday, while calling for stronger exchanges and expressing hopes it would maintain a policy of “rationality, dialogue and cooperation”. “China attaches great importance to its relations and cooperation with Germany, and it is important for the two major influential countries to stay true to their original aspiration of cooperation, and strengthen dialogue and coordination to bring more stability and certainty into the world,” Li said, according to state news agency Xinhua. The meeting was one of several in preparation for Li’s trip to Berlin on June 20 and his first since being promoted to premier in March. Last week, China’s foreign policy chief Wang Yi and foreign minister Qin Gang met the German foreign and security policy adviser, Jens Plotner .
