Europe Merkel moves to avoid trade war with China

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to take steps to avoid a brewing trade war between China and the EU during a first visit by China's new premier to Germany, with both leaders calling for dialogue.

Germany will push in the next six months for discussions on resolving the disputes between Brussels and Beijing over Chinese telecom products and solar panels to avoid it ending in mutual tariffs, Merkel said on Sunday.

Both she and Premier Li Keqiang, who is on his first foreign tour since taking office in March, told a joint press conference that they rejected trade protectionism which hurt both sides.

Under pressure from German industry, Merkel said Germany would do its utmost to resolve the issues by pushing for talks to avoid "lapsing into a kind of dispute which finally only ends in mutual tariffs".

"I will, as head of the government, advocate that we, at the European level, as quickly as possible have intensive discussions with the Chinese side on the questions at issue," Merkel added.
Germany is by far China's biggest European trading partner. While German motor vehicles and auto parts, machinery and electrical goods find a vast export market in the world's second-largest economy, China needs
technology from Germany.