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Germany, China agree to boost ties

By Jiao Xiaoyang and Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-08 07:05

Chinese leaders had a busy weekend balancing their time between the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games and playing host to visiting foreign leaders and officials.

President Hu Jintao met with his German counterpart Horst Kohler Sunday, a day after he held talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Hu agreed with Kohler to further promote relations between China and Germany. He said: "Sino-German ties have developed soundly thanks to the concerted efforts of the two sides."

Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with German President Horst Koehler in Beijing, China, on Sept. 7, 2008. Horst Koehler attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games on Saturday night. [Xinhua]

Kohler said he hoped the two sides will share their experiences and strengthen their dialogue.

High-level bilateral exchanges are getting back on track in recent weeks after ties were soured last year because of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's controversial meeting with the Dalai Lama and the anti-China chorus that followed in the German media .

At his meeting with Ahmadinejad Saturday, Hu called for flexibility in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue. "There is the rare opportunity for the resumption of talks, and we hope all the parties will seize the chance and show flexibility and push for a peaceful settlement," Hu said.

As always, China wants the issue to be settled peacefully through talks, he added.

In response, Ahmadinejad said Iran is willing to maintain communications with China on the nuclear issue.

Addressing Iranian athletes in the Paralympic Village, Ahmadinejad said Iran's paralympians are "messengers of peace, friendship, and brotherhood among all nations".

Altogether, 16 government heads and royalty and more than 80 ministers have come to Beijing for the Paralympics.