Merkel discussed China's electro-cars plan with prime minister Li

[February 27, 2017]  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed China's plan to set quotas for the number of electric cars it wants on its roads in the future in a phone call with Prime Minister Li Keqiang, a government spokesman said on Monday

German Chancellor Angela Merkel awaits the arrival of the new European Parliament President Antonio Tajani at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

"The federal chancellor had a phone call with Prime Minister Li Keqiang, it was a confidential phone call and I can give no details," Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference in Berlin.

He added that Germany supported China's plan to put more electric cars on its roads as long as the drive was not discriminatory against foreign carmakers.

Germany's Handelsblatt business daily reported at the weekend that China would soften its stance on electric cars after a phone call between Merkel and Li. It said German carmakers were opposed to the scale and pace of the plan.

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr and Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

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