“The South China Sea is a completely different beast”, said senior researcher at the Chinese Naval Research Institute in Beijing, Li Jie. French president Francois Hollande arrives in China on Sunday for a two-day state visit.
Advertisement
Germany and China are working to create an agreement that would eliminate economic cyberattacks between the two countries.
Previously, Boeing also signed a 300 jets deal with China; however, with the current deal, Airbus might remain ahead of its rivals in booking most commercial aircraft orders.
The A330s that were purchased, firm up the options that were taken back in June, when China made the announcement of 45 new wide body planes plus an option to purchase another 30.
On Thursday, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said the country’s military will take “all necessary” measures in response to any future U.S. Navy incursions into what it considers its territorial waters around islands in the South China Sea.
China insists it has sovereign rights to almost all of the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which about a third of all the world’s traded oil passes. The goal, according to the U.S., was to challenge China’;s claims over what are generally understood to be global waters.
When Li took office as prime minister in March 2013, Merkel was the first foreign leader to call and congratulate him.
American warships will continue to “regularly” sail within the 12-nautical mile limit of islands built by China in the South China Sea, a senior US official said Thursday, despite protests from Beijing after the USS Lassen’s passage near one of the man-made islets this week.
Hefei is one of China’s key science cities, with a heavy presence of the Chinese Academy of Science – a potential source of “intelligence support” for China and Germany’s cooperation, Cui said.
Merkel has raised the issue publicly on past trips, while Britain has largely shied away from the subject after a meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was met with a high-level Chinese freeze-out.
The trade volume between China and Germany reached $177.8 billion in 2014, accounting for around 30 percent of total China-EU trade volume, and China also became the top investor in Germany in 2014, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Advertisement
In her talks with Mr Li early on Thursday, she raised the conflict in Syria, a matter that is causing political difficulties for her back in Germany as the country tries to deal with a large influx of migrants, and both countries agreed the urgency of finding a solution was increasing. “We need to learn advanced concepts and technology from Germany”.
