US should not politicize trade issues, Chinese Premier tells Yellen in Beijing
US should not politicize trade issues, Chinese Premier tells Yellen in Beijing
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing, where he urged the US to work with China to adhere to the basic norms of the market economy of fair competition and open cooperation, and refrain from politicizing or overstretching the concept of national security regarding economic and trade issues.
Yellen’s closely watched trip to China, which includes meetings with senior Chinese officials, has underscored the signs of stabilization for China-US bilateral ties amid increased exchanges between high-level officials. However, the US is continuing its crackdown campaign against Chinese industries and businesses with claims such as “overcapacity,” posing risks for the bilateral relationship, experts said.
During the meeting on Sunday morning, the Chinese Premier said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-US relations are currently stabilizing, and China hopes the two countries can be partners rather than adversaries, with mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz scheduled to travel to China in mid-April
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to travel to China in mid-April, accompanied by three federal ministers and a business delegation, media reported. Chinese analysts said Scholz aims to strike a balance in Germany’s China policy, ensuring it is not swayed by the hard-line rhetoric of politicians advocating “de-risking.”
The German Chancellor’s visit is part of a broader series of high-level engagements between China and the EU, and may help foster positive momentum toward consensus-building, the analysts noted.
Scholz reportedly will travel to China for a two-day trip from April 15 to 16. German newspaper Handelsblatt said in a report on April 4 that Scholz will be accompanied by Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir and Transport Minister Volker Wissing. It noted that “it is unusual” for a Chancellor to be accompanied by several federal ministers on a trip to China and would “otherwise only [take] place as part of government consultations.”
Reuters reported on the same day that Germany’s top corporate brass, including Roland Busch, chief executive of Siemens, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius and lab equipment and semiconductor chemicals maker Merck KGaA’s CEO Belen Garijo will join Scholz when he visits China. Busch also serves as chair and president of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business.
Foreign arrivals, departures during Qingming Festival holidays see 163.2% increase
China’ s border ports saw 500,000 foreign passengers trips during the three-day Qingming Festival holidays, marking an increase of 163.2 percent compared to last year. Analysts pointed out that the significant growth signals the tourism market continues to rebound.
According to China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Sunday, a total of 5.189 million passenger trips were recorded crossing Chinese border ports during the Qingming Festival holidays, at an average of 1.73 million trips per day, an increase of 69.6 percent year-on-year.
Among them, residents from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan made 2.267 million passenger trips, an increase of 35.9 percent compared to the same period last year. In response to the influx of those residents returning to honor their ancestors, special inspection channels were established to facilitate their entry and exit during the holidays, the NIA said.
According to a report Chinese travel ticketing platform ly.com sent to the Global Times on Saturday, visitors from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions prefer to travel to the Chinese mainland via Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai ports in South China’s Guangdong Province. The searches for travel to the three regions surged 78 percent during the just-ended holidays.