Germany and Japan agreed on Saturday to strengthen cooperation on financial safety in the aftermath of tensions more than international provide chains and the financial influence of the war in Ukraine.

In the initially higher-ministerial government consultations held involving the two nations, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reached out to Tokyo to seek to lessen Germany’s dependence on China for imports of raw supplies.

“The existing challenges of our time make it clear: It is critical to expand cooperation with close partners and obtain new partners. We want to lessen dependencies and enhance the resilience of our economies.” the German chancellor stated in a tweet.

Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated they think the agreement will let each nations to diversify worth chains in order to be in a position to lessen financial dangers.

In a joint statement, the two nations stated they will operate on establishing “a legal framework for bilateral defense and safety cooperation activities,” like strategies to safeguard crucial infrastructures, trade routes and to safe future provide of sustainable power.

Germany’s choice to prioritize consultations with Japan came right after the Asian nation place forward an financial safety bill final year aimed at securing the uptake of technologies and bolstering crucial provide chains. 

Japan is Germany’s second-biggest trading companion in Asia right after China, with a bilateral trade volume of €45.7 billion primarily primarily based on the import and export of machinery, autos, electronics and chemical goods.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the scenario in Ukraine, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific area and the G7 meeting in Hiroshima scheduled for May well.