Shi Mingde President of China-Germany Friendship Association , former Chinese ambassador to Germany, Austria
October 11 is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. In the past 50 years, the world has changed and experienced ups and downs. China has made remarkable achievements in reform and opening up and has become the world's second largest economy; Germany has ended its division and achieved national unity, becoming the country with the strongest economic strength in Europe. Although China-Germany relations have had twists and turns, they have generally maintained a good momentum of rapid, continuous and stable development, and have always been at the forefront of developing relations between China and European countries. The most important feature of the China-Germany all-round strategic partnership is that it is pragmatic, extensive, in-depth and has a solid foundation.
Over the past 50 years, the political mutual trust between China and Germany has been deepened, and leaders have frequently exchanged visits. Entering the new century, China-Germany relations have entered into a "fast track" and "speed-up period" of all-round development, and successfully achieved a "triple jump". In 2004, the two sides announced the establishment of a partnership with global responsibility within the framework of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership , and the establishment of an annual meeting mechanism between the two prime ministers; in 2010, the two countries decided to comprehensively promote the strategic partnership and agreed to establish a government consultation mechanism ; In 2014, the two sides further upgraded the relationship between the two countries to an all-round strategic partnership. In 2011, the two countries established the Sino-German government consultation mechanism , which is the highest-level consultation mechanism between China and Western countries, and has played an important role in continuously deepening and expanding practical cooperation, planning and leading the relationship between the two countries. For a long time, the high frequency of mutual visits between the leaders of the two countries is rare in China's relations with Western countries. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, the leaders of the two countries have maintained close contact and exchanges. The all-round cooperation between China and Germany has reached an unprecedented level in both breadth and depth.
The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has complementary advantages and fruitful results. The bilateral trade volume between China and Germany has increased from less than US$300 million in the year when diplomatic relations were established to US$235.1 billion now, accounting for about one-third of the total trade volume between China and the EU. The average daily trade volume between the two countries is now equivalent to the volume of more than two years in the early days of the establishment of diplomatic relations. China has been Germany's largest trading partner in the world for six consecutive years. Germany is also China's largest source of foreign investment and technology introduction in the EU. In recent years, Sino-German investment has changed from a "one-way street" to a "two-way street", and Chinese investment in Germany has grown significantly. There are more than 6,000 German companies in China, and more than 3,000 Chinese-funded companies are operating in Germany. The rapid development of China-Germany economy, trade and technology has brought tangible benefits to the two countries and the two peoples.
The turn of the country lies in the blind date of the people. China and Germany have established a high-level people-to-people exchange and dialogue mechanism, and more than 500 pairs of universities and research institutions have maintained close cooperative relations. More than 50,000 Chinese students form the largest group of overseas students in Germany. More than 300 primary and secondary schools in Germany offer Chinese courses, and China has built 19 Confucius Institutes in Germany. The number of ties between provinces, states and cities in the two countries has reached as many as 103 pairs. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, more than 2 million Chinese and German tourists visited each other, and there were more than 100 flights per week. The cultural, educational and personnel exchanges between the two countries have greatly enhanced the mutual understanding and friendly feelings between the two peoples.
The two countries jointly maintain peace, cooperate and coordinate in international affairs. Both China and Germany advocate multilateralism , oppose unilateralism, advocate free trade, oppose trade protectionism , advocate promoting globalization and international cooperation, oppose bloc politics and separation and decoupling, and advocate peaceful means to resolve international and regional disputes , vigorously advocate and implement climate protection and carbon neutrality. The two sides share similar concepts and goals in global governance and other fields.
The achievement of Sino-German relations today is inseparable from the political mutual respect and trust, economic complementarity and win-win cooperation between the two countries. It is also the long-term dedication and hard work of the leaders of the two countries and countless people of insight. the result of.
Today, on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany, in the context of the increasingly complex international situation, the relations between the two countries are facing both new development opportunities and new tests and challenges. Under the influence of the three factors of the game between China and the United States, the spread of the epidemic and the Ukrainian crisis, Germany's domestic and foreign policies are undergoing a "change of the times". In December last year, the first three-party coalition government in German history was formed. While the new German government expressed its emphasis on relations with China, it also considered the z in its China policy.2z Geopolitics, national security, ideology, and US factors have risen significantly, positioning China-Germany relations as partners, competitors and institutional rivals. Germany is preparing to issue a new China strategy document. After the epidemic, especially since the Ukrainian crisis broke out, Germany's perception of China has experienced huge deficits and misunderstandings. Where will China-Germany relations go? Where will Germany's China policy go? A new debate is taking place in Germany.
The 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany is also an important moment for both sides to look back on the past, look forward to the future, and build on the past. China has enough determination and confidence in the future development of China-Germany and China-EU relations and the prospects of China-Germany and China-EU cooperation, and at the same time pays close attention to new changes, new problems and new challenges. In May of this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized in a video meeting with German Chancellor Scholz that in the past 50 years, China-Germany relations have maintained a high level of performance. The two sides have achieved common development and mutual achievements through continuous deepening of pragmatic cooperation. Respect, win-win cooperation, this valuable experience and important principle must be consistently adhered to. China's original intention to develop China-Germany relations remains unchanged, its sincere desire to strengthen cooperation with Germany remains unchanged, and its confidence in China and Germany to jointly accomplish more meaningful events remains unchanged.
Sino-German cooperation is not a one-way street, it is always mutually beneficial and win-win. At present, the most important thing is to grasp the general direction of the development of bilateral relations, enhance political mutual trust, expand consensus, respect each other's core interests, and reduce misunderstandings and frictions. While maintaining traditional cooperation, the two sides should create new highlights and new platforms for future-oriented cooperation in fields such as environmental protection, artificial intelligence, new energy, digital economy, and green economy, and continue to make the cake of cooperation between the two parties bigger. Maintaining and developing China-Germany friendly cooperative relations is not only beneficial to the two countries and peoples, but also helps to inject more positive energy of peace, stability and development into the turbulent world. (Editor in charge: An Ran Leshui Yuxin)
