施罗德：中德要共同维护开放的全球经济
The European Union (EU), China and Germany should work together to maintain an open global economy, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Monday.
德国前总理施罗德周一表示，欧盟、中国与德国应当共同努力维持开放的全球经济。
The world is in an era of uncertainty "more profound than any uncertainty for decades," said Schroeder in an opening speech at the Hamburg Summit, calling on China and Germany to strengthen political and economic cooperation.
The biennial Hamburg Summit, which was initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, serves as an important platform for discussing China-EU economic cooperation. Schroeder is the forum's honorary chairman.
"The 'America First' stance will bring about changes for all of us -- in trade policies, as well as in foreign and security policies," Schroeder told the two-day event.
Schroeder stressed that the rules-based international order that has been built up since World War II is under strain.
"We have witnessed attacks on international trade and the system that supports it, which is based on the free flow of goods and capital," Schroeder said.