China: Merkel, Li Keqiang downplay tensions over China-Europe trade market

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China hopes Germany can play a central role in strengthening the Chinese-European trade market, during a welcome ceremony for German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday.
Li Keqiang made it clear that Germany, Europe's largest economy and China's largest trading partner in the eurozone, was a key partner for China to secure a foothold in the European Union's markets.
During a joint press conference after the signing of multiple bilateral agreements on economic cooperation between both nations, both leaders rushed to start their speeches by condemning the mass shootings in Orlando, that left 50 dead and 53 injured on Sunday.
Angela Merkel was also the latest world leader to express concern over China's recently passed law on the governance of NGOs, which puts all non-governmental organisations under the rule of the national security police, rather than the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The German Chancellor arrived to Beijing on Sunday, for a three-day official visit to China. Merkel was then presented with a honorific degree at a Chinese University before joining Li Keqiang for an official dinner at Beijing's Summer Palace.