German president expresses optimism for cooperation with China

German President Joachim Gauck delivers a speech at Tongji University in Shanghai, March 23, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

SHANGHAI -- German President Joachim Gauck expressed optimism for cooperation with China on Wednesday, hoping the two countries will work together more in international affairs.

Bilateral relations are based on the long-term mutual trust and reliability, just as people have built trust through years' cooperation and exchanges, Gauck said when giving a speech at Tongji University in Shanghai.

Germany's trade with China is nearly equivalent to the total of trade between China and other three European countries - France, Britain and Italy, Gauck said, stressing that German companies are determined to expand their business in China amid a slow global economic growth.

According to Gauck, Germany and China have much in common. Both are populous countries with a large economy and have proved to be the anchor for stability in their respective region in times of economic difficulties.

"Germany is eager to see a stable and prosperous China," Gauck said.

He said Germany has always welcomed China's peaceful rise, its principle of peaceful co-existence with other countries and a greater role of it in the international arena.

Acknowledging Germany and China have jointly taken responsibilities to deal with global problems, Gauck said both have made their due contribution to addressing climate change, Iranian nuclear issue and Syrian crisis.

Germany is willing to cooperate with China to make the international order and legal system more effective and fairer, he added.

Gauck is on a five-day state visit to China from Sunday to Thursday. He will visit Xi'an of Shaanxi Province in northwest China after stops at Beijing and Shanghai.