Chancellor Angela Merkel told an audience of Chinese students today that an open and free society is necessary to shape development, and that young people should learn from history to avoid mistakes of previous generations.
“You need an open, pluralistic and free society in order to shape the future successfully,” Merkel said in a speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “And I think all these principles form the basis for the success of a society in the future.”
Merkel said a good legal and socially just system is required for sustainable development, adding that it’s “important for citizens to believe in power of law rather than law of the powerful.”
Amid an escalation of tensions between China and Japan over a territorial dispute and ongoing historical differences between the World War II foes, Merkel told students that Europe learned lessons from the two world wars and had since overcome difficulties. Conflicts need peaceful solutions through dialog and engagement of international organizations, Merkel said.
Merkel is on a three-day visit to China, her seventh since she took office in 2005. She enjoys a good rapport with President Xi Jinping, who visited Germany earlier this year.
The two sides signed several agreements yesterday including a memorandum of understanding between Air China Ltd. and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, a deal for a new car plant in China for FAW Volkswagen Automobile Co., as well as a helicopter order with Airbus Group NV. (AIR)
China also agreed to grant Germany an 80 billion yuan ($13 billion) quota under its RQFII program, which allows foreign entities to invest Chinese yuan in the domestic capital markets.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Henry Sanderson in Beijing at hsanderson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net Neil Western, Chris Anstey
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