On September 10, President Jiang Zemin met former German Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl at the Great Hall of the People. The two sides had a warm and friendly talk.

Jiang said that Mr Kohl is an old friend of the Chinese people and has made important contributions to promoting and developing Sino-German relations. He hopes Mr Kohl will continue to care about the development of Sino-German relations.

Jiang pointed out that the current international situation and international relations are experiencing significant and complicated changes. The world's multipolarization and economic globalization are developing at an accelerating speed, but there is still an obvious existence of hegemonism, unilateralism and a south-north discrepancy, the gap between the rich and poor is widening, and regional conflicts are occurring one after the other. The world's security requires State-to-State relations adhering to the five principles of peaceful coexistence, all States should respect each other, treat each other equally, strengthen cooperation and seek common ground while reserving differences.

Jiang said that China has always supported the united development of Europe and is willing to see Europe play a greater and more active role in international affairs. China pays special attention to its relations with the European Union, and is willing to reinforce and expand all-round cooperative relations with the EU.

Kohl said that the international situation is shifting from polarization to multipolarization, which is a significant change at the beginning of the 21st century. He said that the unification of Europe will continue to develop and the issue of Euro will promote and accelerate this tendency. The Euro is not only a common currency, it also reflects the historical development of Europe. The process of European unification is irreversible.