China and Germany Strengthen Ties and Talk Money - New York Times

SHANGHAI â€" Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany ended a two-day visit to China on Friday with a renewed call to strengthen ties between Germany and China and a new pledge from Beijing that it would continue to invest in Europe.

Ms. Merkel visited China at the invitation of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at a time when both countries are facing the prospect of slower growth and weakening demand for their exports.

Traveling with a large delegation of German officials and business executives, the chancellor held talks in Beijing with President Hu Jintao and Mr. Wen, as well as the two men expected to succeed them early next year, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang.

Neither side indicated any significant progress on political or economic issues, but Mr. Wen called for the European Union to take bolder steps to resolve its debt crisis. He also said China intended to invest more in European debt.

Experts on China say Beijing is eager to have Europe welcome more Chinese investment in key areas, not just the debt market.

“The significance of this visit lies primarily in the bilateral economic relations,” said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing and an adviser to the State Council, or cabinet. “There has been a lot of discussion over China providing financial assistance to Europe. But Germany cannot solely represent Europe, and Europe as an integrated entity still has some concern over receiving Chinese assistance.”

To soothe Chinese concerns, Ms. Merkel reassured Beijing about the stability of the euro, and China showed its hospitality by organizing big trade ceremonies to coincide with the visit.

On Wednesday, German and Chinese companies signed more than a dozen business contracts, including a deal in which a state-owned Chinese company agreed to purchase 50 Airbus aircraft worth about $3.5 billion.

The trip was not entirely favorable to German companies. Ms. Merkel refused to back Germany’s largest producer of solar panels in its efforts to initiate a trade dispute with China over the alleged dumping of low-cost panels in Europe.

The company, SolarWorld, filed a complaint against Chinese competitors in July with the European trade commissioner, but Ms. Merkel said in the past week that she favored negotiation over a trade case.

“We still have time for this, and it would be better if we could resolve it through discussion,” she said.

Mr. Wen seemed pleased with the comments, and said the principle should be applied in other areas, not just solar panels. “This is an important foundation of our cooperation,” he said, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.

Ms. Merkel also steered clear of human rights issues on the trip, at least publicly, which drew the ire of some human rights groups.

Ms. Merkel has faced such criticism before when visiting China. But it was highlighted in Beijing this week after the artist provocateur Ai Weiwei, who is popular in Germany, began poking fun at Ms. Merkel and posting comments online showing his disappointment at not being invited to meet her for lunch. He even uploaded photos onto the Web of himself striding outside, wearing Chinese slippers and carrying a cardboard cutout of Ms. Merkel. He called it “Taking Merkel to Lunch.”

If anything, the trip highlighted Ms. Merkel’s efforts to build closer diplomatic ties with China and to foster what the Chinese and Germans alike have dubbed “a special relationship.”

The Chinese news media noted repeatedly that it was Ms. Merkel’s sixth visit to China since taking office, and her second this year.

This time, with Mr. Wen preparing to leave office early next year, he arranged for Ms. Merkel to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing and to travel by high-speed train to his hometown, Tianjin, to visit an assembly plant managed by the European Aeronautic Defense & Space, the parent company of Airbus.

Xu Yan contributed research.