Xinhua: China & Germany Deepen Financial Cooperation

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BERLIN, March 17 (Xinhua) — China and Germany conducted their first high-level financial dialogue here on Tuesday and agreed to strengthen macro-economic policy coordination, develop policy dialogue and pragmatic cooperation in fiscal and financial areas.

Representing China at the first China-Germany High Level Financial Dialogue, Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai said the dialogue was established after a decision reached by leaders from both countries during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Germany last year. The main task of this dialogue is to implement agreements reached by leaders of the two countries, he added.

Ma said that confronted with a complex and fragile global economic situation, China and Germany as important economies should strengthen policy coordination, coordinate strategic cooperation, deepen financial and fiscal cooperation, consolidate and develop the positive momentum of both economies to make further contributions to the steady growth of the world economy.

Representing Germany at the dialogue, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Deutsche Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said that Germany and China have been working together very well both bilaterally and multilaterally in financial and fiscal areas.

The formal launch of the high-level financial dialogue will help expand bilateral dialogue and avoid risks in this important area and promote bilateral relations, they said.

Both leaders also said that Germany is paying great attention to the huge success of the Chinese economy as well as the rising influence of Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) on the world market. They expressed hope that both sides could expand bilateral investment and keep deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Both sides spoke of the dialogue mechanism as an important platform for bilateral communication and policy coordination on strategic, overarching and long-term issues in financial fields.

Leaders said they are committed to strengthening macro-economic policy coordination in the G20 context, developing policy dialogue and pragmatic cooperation in fiscal and financial areas in a bid to jointly support global economic growth and improve global economic governance.

According to a joint statement after the dialogue, the German side will actively support China in hosting the G20 summit in 2016 and supports China’s goal to add the RMB to the special drawing rights (SDR) currency basket based on existing criteria.

Germany also announced at the dialogue its intention to join the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a prospective founding member. China welcomed this intention.

During the dialogue, both sides reached consensus on issues such as investment cooperation between China and Europe, China and Germany and in third countries.

Both sides welcomed each other’s banking institutions setting up establishments or developing business operations in their respective markets and plan to hold consultations on bank supervision.

China and Germany also support the establishment and development of an offshore RMB market and a local RMB clearing bank in Frankfurt and welcome German financial institutions using RMB qualified foreign institutional investors (RQFII) quota to invest in China’s markets.

The joint statement said that both sides would support Chinese securities and futures institutions in cooperating with German institutions to establish and conduct business in Germany, including the development, distribution and portfolio management of RQFII products.

China has approved Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Investment GmbH’s application for RQFII qualification. Both sides supported the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the China Financial Futures Exchange and the Deutsche Boerse Group’s plan to co-establish a RMB offshore platform to trade financial instruments in Frankfurt.

Officials from China and Germany attending the financial dialogue reached consensus on the direction of future strategic cooperation and exchanged views on the macro-economic situation in China and Europe.

Ma and Schaeuble held a joint press conference after the dialogue and later attended a working lunch with Chinese and German business leaders.

Ma also attended a discussion on Industry 4.0 at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology in Berlin on Tuesday.