‘Failure to cooperate is biggest risk,’ Chinese Premier Li tells German businesses

Pushing back the attempts of alleged "de-coupling," Chinese Minister Li Qiang has said non-cooperation among the businesses was the "biggest risk," stressing on face-to-face communication.

"Failure to cooperate is the biggest risk, and failure to develop is the biggest insecurity," Li told representatives of German businesses in Berlin on Monday, according to state-run Xinhua news.

Li, on his first trip abroad since taking office in March, is leading a 10-member Chinese government delegation to Germany where he called for strengthening bilateral cooperation and deepening strategic partnership.

"Face-to-face communication can deepen the understanding and trust between people," Li said, calling for "grasping certainty amid uncertainties in a world of turmoil."

The meeting was attended by representatives of Siemens, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Schaeffler, BASF, Covestro, Wacker Chemie, Merck, SAP and Allianz.

"Confidence needs to be strengthened to overcome difficulties," Li said, calling for following the historical trend of economic globalization.

"With economic globalization, the world economy has become interconnected, which entails a dialectical view of dependence," Li said. "That means refraining from exaggerating the degree of dependence or even simply equating interdependence with insecurity."

Noting that the recovery of the world economy needs to be accelerated through openness and cooperation, Li said: "It is understandable that all parties have their own security concerns … (but) what is important is how to reasonably define and guard against risks."

"If not handled properly and the risks are amplified, more and bigger problems will only be created," he said.

"Enterprises should be re-put in the driving seat in terms of risk prevention, and risk prevention and cooperation are not opposites," said Li, cautioning against "simply equating interdependence with insecurity."

At the start of his visit to Germany, Li was received by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace.

Li will head the Chinese delegation for inter-governmental consultations with Germany on Tuesday, and will then head to Paris for an official visit and attend an economic conference from June 22 to 23.