Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with visiting German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Beijing on Monday, to discuss relations between their two countries.
At the meeting, Han said that since the formation of Germany's new government, China and Germany have maintained high-level close interaction. In May this year, Han added, President Xi Jinping spoke with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over phone, providing strategic guidance for further deepening China-Germany relations.
Noting that China and Germany are important economic and trading partners which can achieve win-win results through mutually beneficial cooperation, Han said China is willing to work with Germany to deliver on the important common understandings reached between top leaders of the two countries, enhance communication and dialogue, and work to bring the China-Germany all-round strategic partnership to a new level.
Han said the Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests, and China hopes that the German side will abide by the one-China principle. China also expects Germany, as a core major country in the European Union, to play an active role in promoting healthy development of China-EU relations, Han noted.
Speaking on the same occasion, Wadephul said the new German government attaches great importance to developing ties with China and firmly adheres to the one-China policy.
Germany looks forward to closer high-level exchanges with China and deepened cooperation on all fronts, and is willing to be a reliable partner of cooperation with China, Wadephul said.
Chinese vice president meets German foreign minister on relations
The World Trade Organization (WTO) released the latest data on Friday which showed that global merchandise trade growth exceeded expectations in the first quarter of 2026, as surging trade in electronic components related to artificial intelligence (AI) offset the negative impact of the Middle East conflict.
According to the data, the seasonally adjusted volume of world merchandise trade rose by 1.9 percent quarter on quarter and 3.2 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year.
In value terms, global merchandise trade increased by 2 percent from the previous quarter and by 11 percent from the same quarter of 2025.
The year-on-year growth rate recorded in the first quarter of 2026 is particularly noteworthy, given that trade growth in the first quarter of 2025 had been largely driven by front-loading of imports in North America ahead of expected tariff hikes.
The robust trade in AI-related electronic components more than offset the adverse effects of the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, including disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and slower GDP growth in net fuel-importing countries due to higher energy prices.
While no specific data are available on global trade volumes of AI-enabling products, their U.S. dollar-denominated trade value surged by over 40 percent year on year in the first quarter.
The conflict has severely hit merchandise trade in the Middle East. The region's seasonally adjusted export and import volumes dropped by 9.7 percent and 11.9 percent year on year, respectively, in the first quarter, and even sharper declines are expected for the second quarter.
At the same time, AI-related investment spending lifted trade volumes in Asia during the first quarter. Asia's seasonally adjusted exports and imports were up 12.9 percent and 14.6 percent year on year, respectively. Much of Asia's trade expansion came from intra-regional circulation of AI-enabling goods.
In North America, first-quarter exports rose by 7.0 percent year on year, while imports fell by 10.7 percent year on year.
The WTO expects that the next quarter's trade data will more fully reflect the disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
WTO says global goods trade growth exceeds expectations in Q1
