Germany, China sign giant deal ahead of G-20 summit

Germany and China signed a raft of key economic deals as the leaders of the both countries pledged to carry bilateral ties to a new phase in a meeting in Berlin ahead of the G-20 summit. 

Among deals which were signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on July 5 were a giant Chinese order for Airbus A320 aircraft and an extended cooperation between German carmaker Daimler AG and China's BAIC Motor Corp.

The Chinese leader and Merkel pledged to work together more closely on a range of issues, including trade and aerospace, two days ahead of the G-20 summit in Hamburg that U.S. President Donald Trump is also due to attend. 

"Chinese-German relations are now about to have a new start where we need new breakthroughs," Xi told a joint news conference with Merkel in Berlin after the two oversaw the signing of agreements between China and companies including Siemens AG, Airbus SE and Daimler AG, as quoted by Reuters. 

He said he hoped to make a "new blueprint, set our sights on new goals and plan new routes" for cooperation during his visit to Germany.

"We will have difficult discussions, since bringing 20 states together with all their developments and ideas is not easy," Merkel said.

She added that she and Xi had also talked about wanting to quickly sign an investment treaty that would ultimately turn into a full-blown free-trade agreement. 

Germany and China are bonding over shared goals of free trade and curbing climate change. 

Merkel said she will seek to move along talks between China and the European Union on the former's trade status and called for progress toward an investment accord that could in time lead to a free-trade agreement.

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