Premier Li Keqiang calls for improved China-German ties; Chinese President Xi Jinping: Modernization and regularization in the air force should be accelerated to build a stronger military; China urges the United States to block congressional approval of a
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    • (APRIL 7- 13)

    According to reports, Premier Li Keqiang said on April 14 that he hopes China and Germany can push forward cooperation in manufacturing and emerging industries such as new energy when he met visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Beijing. Li also said he is looking forward to visiting Germany later this year and meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel. Steinmeier told Li that the two countries have shared interests in many aspects and have a broad prospect for cooperation. 1
    According to reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14 said modernization and regularization in the air force should be accelerated to build a stronger military. Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, told troops to speed up airspace integration and sharpen their offensive and defensive capabilities while inspecting the air force's command headquarters. 2
    According to reports, China on April 10 urged the United States to block congressional approval of a Taiwan-related bill. The US House of Representatives passed a bill this week reaffirming the importance of the "Taiwan Relations Act" and called on the Obama administration to sell Perry-class frigates to Taiwan. The so-called "Taiwan Relations Act" is unilaterally formulated by the United States and runs counter to the three China-US joint communiques, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily news briefing. 3
    According to reports, the US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel started his four day visit to China on April 7 on the invitation of the Chinese State Councilor and Defence Minister Chang Wanquan. 4 Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel in Beijing on April 9, calling on the two countries to build a new model of military relationship. "Military-to-military relations are an important component of China-U.S. ties and both sides should develop a new model of military relationship within the framework of building a new type of major-country relations," Xi said.” 5 The Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan also met with Chuck Hagel. After his meeting Chang said that, “The China-US relationship is neither comparable to the US-Russia ties in the Cold War, nor a relationship between container and contained. China’s development can’t be contained by anyone”. 6 He also added that China has always followed the international and domestic laws with respect to its cyber operations. Chang said that, “China has always adhered to the principle of peace, security, openness and cooperation in cyberspace”. 7 Chuck Hagel also visited the Chinese aircraft carried Lioning. He became the first foreigner to undertake this visit. 8
    Reports noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping April 8 held talks with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres, calling for tangible progress in Israel-Palestine peace talks at an early date. The Chinese people and the Jewish people have got along with each other, said Xi during their talks in the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. Especially during WWII, the two peoples supported each other and commonly opposed Fascism and militarism, he said. Highlighting that the two nations have a sound political relationship and have cooperated substantially since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, Xi said China is willing to continue high-level exchanges with Israel and to set up an inter-governmental mechanism of economic and technological cooperation as soon as possible. 9

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