Germany hopes for a United Nations(UN) Security Council permanent seat, said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer Thursday, July 15, after talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing.

Fischer, also German deputy chancellor, is here on an Asian tour, which will also take him to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Fischer visited Beijing following his India tour.

Germany and China enjoy sound cooperation in UN affairs, and both hope the UN could play its role in a more effective manner, said Fischer in meeting with the media.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said in the talks that China is willing to cooperate with Germany to push bilateral trade forward. Also he said he hopes to bring technical cooperation and bilateral relations to a new level.

Sino-German relations have maintained a sound momentum, acknowledged Li. He added that the visit to Germany by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao this summer has brought bilateral ties to a new phase.

Fischer, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, expressed his admiration for China's rapid development and appreciated the positive role China has played in international affairs. He said Germany is ready to enhance cooperation with China in such spheres as trade, economy and culture.

China and Germany have been in close contact, with the bilateral trade volume hitting 41.8 billion US dollars in 2003. China is Germany's largest trade partner in Asia while Germany being China's largest partner in Europe.

Fischer reiterated Germany's support for China on Tibet, Hong Kong, human rights issues as well as the one-China policy.

Chinese foreign minister said that the two sides agreed to continue to cooperate and both favor a multilateral approach in international affairs.

China and Germany have reached consensus on UN issue and spoke about numerous issues including the Korean nuclear issue, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and the UN reform, Li said.

Fischer said that China, as a crucial player in the globe at the beginning of the 21st century, has made an impressive development in both economic and social fields.

Fischer noted that multilateral rather than unilateral approach should be dominant in the new century.