Germany and China are planning a big expansion of joint research and investment in green technologies, including production of electric cars in China and development of carbon-capture systems.
A series of business and inter-governmental agreements were signed between the world’s two largest exporters in Berlin on Tuesday after Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, chaired joint government talks there.
Including a contract for 62 Airbus A320 aircraft, the total value of the Sino-German deals was put at about $15bn – dwarfing the £1.4bn ($2.2bn) of trade agreements with British companies signed when Mr Wen was in the UK on Monday.