2010-04-01 20:36

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao exchanged ideas with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on elevating bilateral ties to a new high during a phone conversation Thursday.

Wen said China and Germany strengthened cooperation and stabilized bilateral trade last year in face of the international financial crisis.

"We were happy to see that Germany's exports to China grew," Wen said.

China highly values its ties with Germany, and wishes to broaden bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The Chinese side welcomes German enterprises to come to China to make investment and jointly foster new areas of joint economic growth, he said.

Merkel said that dialogue and cooperation between Germany and China were fruitful, and that the German side is ready to further boost high-level exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with China and promote bilateral ties to a new high.

The two leaders agreed that the world economic imbalance was caused by various complicated factors, and cannot be blamed on major producing and trading powers. As major economies in the world, both China and Germany have made significant contributions to promoting international trade and economic growth.

They urged all countries in the world to oppose trade and investment protectionism in all forms, and work together to push forward a sustainable recovery of the world economy.

Wen and Merkel also exchanged views on climate change and Iran's nuclear issue among others.