German Chancellor Scholz was invited to conduct an official visit to China from April 14th to 16th. This trip to China is Prime Minister Scholz's second visit to China since taking office, and he is also the first Western leader to visit China this year. During their visit to China, the leaders of China and Germany exchanged views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern. We unanimously agree to continue strengthening strategic communication, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, promoting stable and healthy development of China Europe relations, opposing decoupling and disconnection, jointly addressing global challenges, and working together to inject more stability and certainty into the world.
China and Germany are the world's second and third largest economies. The significance of consolidating and developing Sino German relations goes beyond bilateral relations and has significant impacts on the Eurasian continent and even the entire world. The two countries should firmly grasp the positioning of comprehensive strategic partnership, view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, adhere to the cooperation foundation and development direction of China Germany relations, enhance the resilience and vitality of the bilateral relations, and jointly maintain world peace and prosperity.
Deepening pragmatic cooperation
Building a country through industry and being pragmatic is the clear foundation of Sino German cooperation. Germany has been China's largest trading partner in Europe for 49 consecutive years; China has maintained Germany's position as the world's largest trading partner for 8 consecutive years. According to a report from the German Institute of Economics, Germany's total direct investment in China reached a record high of 11.9 billion euros in 2023, an increase of 4.3% from the previous year and a new historical high.
Prime Minister Scholz's visit to China this time was accompanied by three cabinet ministers from the environment, agriculture, and transportation sectors. The delegation was also accompanied by a heavyweight economic delegation from Germany, including heads of well-known companies such as Siemens, Bayer, Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Zeiss. Visiting Chongqing, Shanghai, and Beijing successively reflects the general willingness of the German economic community to deepen exchanges and cooperation with China.
The two countries reached multiple cooperation consensus during this visit, including promoting trilateral cooperation in agriculture in Africa and joint training on renewable energy in Asia within the framework of the three-year action plan on strengthening international development cooperation between China and Germany. Both sides will also jointly implement the Sino German Agricultural Cooperation Action Plan (2024-2028) and hold the 10th Sino German Agricultural Week within the year.
China is the largest developing country, while Germany is the largest economy in Europe. The industrial and supply chains between China and Germany are deeply intertwined, and the markets of the two countries are highly dependent. The mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a risk, but a guarantee for the stability of the bilateral relationship and an opportunity to create the future. Whether it is traditional fields such as mechanical manufacturing and automobiles, or emerging fields such as green transformation, digitalization, and artificial intelligence, both countries have enormous potential for cooperation and win-win cooperation that urgently needs to be explored. We must be vigilant against the rise of protectionism, adhere to a market and global perspective, start from economic laws, and objectively and dialectically view production capacity issues.
Promoting communication and dialogue
Both China and Germany have made significant contributions to the progress of human civilization. There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Germany, and they do not pose a security threat to each other. The exchange and cooperation between China and Germany are beneficial to both sides and the world. Currently, China Germany relations are developing well, and both sides have close exchanges at all levels and in various fields. The large-scale and close exchanges at the government, local, and corporate levels between China and Germany have always been a characteristic and advantage of bilateral relations. The two countries have established over a hundred pairs of friendly provinces, states, and cities, laying a solid foundation for deepening civil friendship. As the first pair of friendly cities between China and Germany, Wuhan and Duisburg have had exchanges and cooperation for more than 40 years. "By jointly building the the Belt and Road, we can be more closely connected".
The two prime ministers of this visit unanimously agreed to implement the results of the seventh round of China Germany government consultations and the third China Germany high-level financial dialogue, and to hold the first China Germany high-level dialogue on climate change and green transformation, the new China Germany high-level security dialogue, the 26th China Germany Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation, and other institutional dialogues, in preparation for the next round of government consultations; Continue to deepen cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, investment, science and technology, industry, and humanities; Further expand personnel exchanges and provide greater support for exchanges and cooperation in local areas, cultural and sports, youth, education, scientific research, and other fields. Agreed unanimously to expand the arrangement of passenger and freight transportation rights between China and Germany; Carry out practical project cooperation such as joint training on renewable energy in Asia; China agrees to lift restrictions on the export of German beef and apples to China. No wonder some German media described this visit as "a trip almost identical to the Merkel era.".
Enhancing strategic mutual trust
China is the world's largest developing country, Germany is an important member of the European Union, and the EU is an important pole in the world. China and Germany have many similarities in the issue of world multipolarity. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations for over half a century, China Germany relations have maintained a high level of development, and China's policy towards Germany has maintained high stability and coherence. China has always regarded Germany as an important partner for cooperation and win-win, and supports Germany in playing a more important role in Europe and the world. At the Central Foreign Affairs Work Conference held at the end of last year, China put forward two major proposals: "an equal and orderly world multipolarity and inclusive economic globalization.". And both China and Germany support free trade and economic globalization, which demonstrates the significant historical significance and important strategic value of Sino German cooperation.
Multipolarization should essentially involve mutual respect and peaceful coexistence among countries with different civilizations, systems, and paths. China and Germany should independently carry out multilateral cooperation, promote the international community to better respond to global challenges such as climate change, uneven development, and regional conflicts through practical actions, and make more contributions to the balance and stability of the world.
To promote an early peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, China has put forward the principle of "four wants and four don'ts": first, prioritize the overall situation of peace and stability, and not seek personal gain. Secondly, we need to cool down the situation and not pour oil on it. We must accumulate conditions for restoring peace and not further intensify conflicts. We must reduce the negative impact on the world economy and not disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains. Both sides stated that China and Germany are committed to adhering to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, opposing the use of nuclear weapons or attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities, properly resolving international food security issues, and complying with international humanitarian law. Both sides have reached a consensus on issues such as the Palestinian Israeli conflict. Resolving the various risks and challenges faced by human society cannot be achieved without cooperation among major powers. In the turbulent world, such a Sino German consensus is extremely precious.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany. At this critical juncture, the two countries have effectively enhanced strategic mutual trust, promoted exchanges and dialogue, deepened practical cooperation, further stabilized and developed bilateral relations, and brought rare stability and confidence to the world. China is willing to take this visit as an opportunity to uphold the principles of mutual respect, equal treatment, mutual benefit, and seeking common ground while reserving differences, and promote greater development of China Germany relations, jointly making greater contributions to world peace and prosperity. (Tian Yunzong)
