Premier says China adheres to opening-up and reform policy

HANNOVER, Germany - Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here Monday China will adhere to the opening-up and reform policy, and welcome foreign investment.

Wen, accompanied by his German counterpart Angela Merkel, made the remarks while visiting the 2012 Hannover Messe, the world's leading industrial fair.

The two leaders attended the opening of the Chinese section at the fair, which will last from Monday to Friday.

China welcomes foreign companies, including German ones, to invest and start up businesses on its territories, pledging that all enterprises that are legally registered in China will be treated equally, Wen said.

He added that China will strengthen its efforts to protect intellectual property rights.

Sino-German trade and economic relations are developing rapidly, bilateral cooperation in technology is booming, and the two countries' economies are intertwined and inseparable, the Chinese premier said as he visited the exhibition booths of the two countries.

He also said he believed the Sino-German mutually beneficial cooperation will be more fruitful in the era of green and intelligence, which is the keynote theme of the ongoing German fair.

Sino-German cooperation already has a very good foundation, Wen said, suggesting that the two sides work out a package plan so that they can conduct large-scale cooperation in infrastructure, investment, trade and finance.

Merkel responded to Wen's proposal positively.

The two leaders agreed to instruct relevant departments of their countries to make a concrete plan as well as the measures to implement it.

They also toured the headquarters of German car-maker Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg, 230 km west of the German capital of Berlin.

During the tour, Wen said Sino-German cooperation in auto industry is a very important part of all-round bilateral cooperation, voicing his belief that cooperation in this field will continue and attain a new level.

They witnessed as well the signing of two joint declarations concerning a joint venture between Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation (Group) and Volkswagen AG in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China, and strengthened cooperation between China's First Automobile Works Group and Volkswagen AG.

Wen and Merkel also exchanged views on issues such as the euro debt crisis and Afghanistan.

Wen is on a four-nation European tour which includes Iceland, Germany, Sweden and Poland.