Premier Wen Jiabao and German President Horst Koehler on Thursday expressed confidence that their countries would share a bright bilateral relationship in the future.

 

Wen, who was in Germany for a working visit, told Koehler that the relationship between China and Germany was in good condition and their cooperation had been fruitful.

 

Wen said the current sound situation was primarily thanks to the fact that both could view and handle bilateral relations from a strategic perspective, recognizing that Chinese-German cooperation was not only in their fundamental interests, but also conducive to the peace and development of the world.

 

Voicing his confidence in the perspective of bilateral ties, Wen said the relationship was moving fast, and had greater potential yet.

 

Koehler said that the rise of China provided a great opportunity for Germany's own development.

 

The president said he was not worried about China's rise, adding that bilateral cooperation was bound to benefit both countries as well as the world, provided that the two sides took on a positive attitude and engaged in dialogue and consultations.

 

The German side also said that while holding the European Union presidency during the first half of next year, it would endeavor to promote the Chinese-European relationship and intensify consultation with China on international and regional affairs.

 

Wen said China was willing to make a joint effort with the German side to persistently expand and elevate bilateral relations so that their partnership which bore global responsibility could keep achieving development.

 

Wen arrived in Germany on Wednesday for a two-day visit, which is the third leg of his four-nation tour. He has already visited Finland and Britain and will wrap up in Tajikistan.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2006)