Hauptinhalt
China
- Political relations
- Dialogue on the rule of law
- Economic relations
- Investment
- Export trade promotion
- Cooperation on energy policy
- Development cooperation
- Scientific and technological cooperation
- Cultural exchange
- Educational exchange
Last updated in April 2012
Political relations
The Federal Republic of Germany and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1972.
Over the past 40 years, these relations have become extremely wide-ranging, remarkably close and of growing political substance. Like all other EU partners, Germany adheres to a one-China policy. China is Germany’s most important economic partner in Asia and Germany is China’s leading trading partner in Europe. In the face of the global economic and financial crisis, stable cooperation between the two countries’ strongly export-oriented economies is of great importance. Since the joint declaration issued by Federal Chancellor Schröder and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on 6 May 2004, Sino-German relations are described as a “strategic partnership in global responsibility”. A joint declaration issued by Federal Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in July 2010 elevates bilateral relations to a new level: in future, the two governments will be seeking to coordinate policy more closely – for example, through annual intergovernmental consultations. The first bilateral intergovernmental consultations, presided over by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, were held in Berlin in late June 2011. The consultations resulted in the signing of numerous agreements further intensifying concrete cooperation between China and Germany in the future in areas such as electromobility.
China views Germany both economically and politically as its “gateway to Europe”. Important elements of this partnership are dynamic economic relations (trade being worth EUR 94 billion in 2009 and EUR 130.1 billion in 2010), investment, environmental cooperation as well as cooperation in the cultural sector and on scientific policy. Frequent high-level visits in both directions are also a key feature of relations.
Overall, there are more than 40 dialogue mechanisms in place, many of them at senior government level: between line ministers, state secretaries and the heads of government authorities. The 11th rule-of-law dialogue, which took place in September 2011 (see below), and the German-Chinese Dialogue Forum between prominent representatives of the two countries’ civil societies, which met again in June 2011, have further intensified Sino-German cooperation in major fields.
Although bilateral relations are developing positively overall, fundamental differences remain over human rights, especially individual freedoms. Germany remains anxious to see China continue to make progress on the domestic front, in developing the rule of law and social systems, in increasing political and economic justice, and above all in allowing fundamental personal rights and peacefully resolving minority issues. The most recent dialogue on human rights was held in China in July 2011. The talks focused on issues relating to criminal law and the prevention of torture and abuse. The July 2010 human rights dialogue in Berlin had focused mainly on the abolition of the death penalty and on minority rights.
Germany has a fundamental interest in promoting the rule of law in China. The most important cooperation instrument here is the rule-of-law dialogue.
Mutual high-level official visits between the two countries are very frequent.
On the sidelines of the ASEM Summit in Brussels, China’s Prime Minister Wen continued his series of high-level talks with Federal Chancellor Merkel during a visit to Meseberg Palace near Berlin on 5 October 2010. China’s Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang met for talks with Federal Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan during his visit to Berlin and Munich from 10 to 14 November 2010. China’s Deputy Prime Minister Li Keqiang was in Berlin on 6 and 7 January 2011 for political talks. He met with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Federal President Christian Wulff, Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Federal Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle. In April 2011, Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle travelled to Beijing to attendthe opening of the exhibition ‘The Art of Enlightenment’, also meeting with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi to continue strategic dialogue. This ongoing dialogue was held for the first time at foreign-minister level.
A high point in political relations in 2011 was the first round of Sino-German intergovernmental consultations. At the invitation of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao travelled to Berlin in June accompanied by 13 ministers. Wen met with Federal Chancellor Merkel for detailed talks. Numerous agreements and memorandums of understanding are aimed at further intensifying cooperation between the two countries.
From 1 to 4 February 2012, Federal Chancellor Merkel visited Beijing and the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and met for talks with Chinese leaders. The visit kicked off a year of events marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the People’s Republic of China. Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Cornelia Pieper is expected in Beijing at the end of March 2012, to attend the closing ceremony of the exhibition ‘The Art of Enlightenment’.
The Year of Chinese Culture in Germany 2012 will feature numerous events and exhibitions in Germany presenting China and its culture.
Dialogue on the rule of law
Sino-German dialogue on the rule of law dates back to the agreement reached in November 1999 by then Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. It is designed to offer a long-term approach to developing the rule of law and implementing human rights in China. On the German side, the rule-of-law dialogue is coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Justice and on the Chinese side by the State Council’s Legislative Affairs Office.
A symposium is held once a year at which German and Chinese government representatives and experts debate a topical legal issue. The 11th Rule of Law Symposium was held in Qingdao/China on 19 and 20 September 2011. The subject of the symposium was ‘Criminal Procedure Law in Countries Governed by the Rule of Law’. The next Rule of Law Symposium on ‘Civil Rights and Government Legislation in the Digital Age’ is to be held in Munich in July 2012.
The rule-of-law dialogue is also underpinned by concrete projects to promote cooperation in the legal sphere. In this connection, Federal Justice Minister Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and the head of the State Council’s Legislative Affairs Office, Minister Song Dahan, signed an agreement in Berlin in November 2010 on a three-year programme (2011-2013) designed to foster exchange and cooperation in the legal field.
The insights and ideas gained from this dialogue have had an impact on the development of legal norms in China, thus also supporting the Chinese government’s efforts to enforce legal norms in specific areas.
Economic relations
Over the past 40 years (1972-2012), Sino-German economic relations have evolved into the great success story they are today. In 1972, German companies exported to China goods worth just USD 270 million. According to Federal Statistical Office figures, in 2011 German exports to China were worth EUR 64.8 billion, an increase of 20.4 per cent compared with the previous year. German imports from China were worth EUR 79.2 billion, an increase of 2.5 per cent compared with the previous year.
Since 2002, China has been Germany’s second biggest export market outside Europe, after the USA and ahead of Japan. Germany is by far China’s largest European trading partner, ranking fifth overall among China’s trading partners (and fourth excluding Hong Kong).
China is also the largest supplier of German imports, its exports to Germany consisting mainly of electrical goods, toys, textiles and garments as well as machinery and plant. German companies import far more goods from China than China does from Germany, which has resulted in a German trade deficit since 1989, though this has been trending downwards again (a decline of EUR 26.8 billion) since 2008. In 2011, it stood at EUR 14.4 billion.
In June 2011, the two governments’ cabinets met in Berlin for the first intergovernmental consultations, which were presided over by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. A total of 19 cooperation agreements were signed, mainly in the economic sphere.
Investment
German companies are currently engaged in China to a much greater degree than Chinese companies in Germany, this probably being not least a reflection of the differences in the two economies’ level of development. Overall, investments by German companies in China have so far been many times higher than the other way around, though there is evidence of greatly increased interest on the Chinese side. According to Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) figures, in 2010 investments by German companies in China totalled USD 0.9 billion. Conversely, Chinese companies have invested approximately USD 0.4 billion in Germany. There are currently some 900 Chinese companies active in Germany (many of them small). By contrast, there are already more than 5,000 German companies operating in China.
Besides the chemical industry, German investments are mainly in automobile manufacturing and in machinery and plant construction. German small and medium-sized companies have also stepped up their engagement in China in recent years. The German Chamber of Commerce’s most recent survey on German companies’ business expectations in China revealed a further increasing willingness on the part of German businesses to invest in the country: nearly 90 per cent of the companies surveyed plan to increase their level of investment by 2015; for three-quarters of the companies, China is one of the three principal destinations for new capital investments; and more than half of the companies plan to open new offices or production facilities in China by 2015. Companies now cite finding qualified employees as their biggest problem. For more than half of the companies, though, not enjoying the same rights as their Chinese competitors still constitutes an additional serious problem.
Over the past few years, China has been very successful in attracting foreign direct investment. However, it needs to further improve basic conditions for foreign investors to ensure that it remains attractive as a place to do business, especially for small and medium-sized companies, and in particular to improve transparency and security for investors. Rule of law deficits remain a fundamental problem here. Investors expect more legal certainty, freedom of contract and the same access to public tenders as Chinese companies. Basic conditions must continue to improve here, especially in the previously strictly regulated service sector (banking, insurance, logistics and trade).
A detailed investment catalogue for foreign companies, compiled under the responsibility of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), specifies for each market segment whether and in what form foreign investments are welcome. It contains a detailed list of investment projects that can be classified in one of three categories: 1. prohibited, 2. permitted under certain conditions or 3. worthy of support. All non-listed projects are permitted. The catalogue does not, however, contain any legally binding or definitive requirements. Investment promotion focuses on a total of four sectors: the environment, energy (e.g. electromobility), high tech (e.g. chip and touch systems) and heath care (e.g. hospitals). This contrasts with additional restrictions in other sectors, e.g. industries that are particularly harmful to the environment, heavy industry and strategic commodities. The draft provides for prohibitions in the case of, say, the construction and management of residential developments and domestic courier services. There are no changes in the banking and insurance sectors or in most of the service sector. A bilateral mutual investment promotion and protection agreement was signed in December 2003 and entered into force in November 2005.
Starting at a low level, Chinese direct investment in Europe has, over the past three years, gained considerable momentum: it grew from approximately USD 500 million in 2008 to USD 6.7 billion in 2010. In that year, Germany became for the first time the principal destination for Chinese investment in the European Union, with an investment volume of USD 412 million. So far, Chinese investment in Germany has focused on the following sectors: mechanical engineering (31 per cent of investment projects), electronics (18 per cent), consumer goods (12 per cent) and information and communication technology (9 per cent). In the coming years, the Chinese government plans to make major investments in developed countries as part of its Going Global Strategy.
Export trade promotion
To promote German business interests in China, German industry and commerce has delegates’ offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou (Canton) (under the umbrella of the German Chamber Network of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, DIHT). Germany Trade & Invest (gtai) also has foreign staff responsible for foreign trade (in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong) and for investment (in Beijing). The delegates’ offices and the gtai offices work closely with the German Embassy in Beijing and the German Consulates-General in Shanghai, Guangzhou (Canton), Chengdu and Hong Kong. German companies in (mainland) China have set up a Chamber of Industry and Commerce, which is headed by the Representatives of German Industry and Trade in Beijing. There is a German Business Association in Hong Kong.
Cooperation on energy policy
Key issues which China is seeking to address more vigorously are curbing climate change, modernizing its environmental policy, developing its alternative-energy sector, improving energy efficiency across the board and dealing with the serious problems resulting from the continuing substantial urbanization pressures in China. The pioneering role played by Germany in many areas of climate and environmental protection as well as in the alternative-energy sector and energy efficiency opens up a wealth of opportunities for establishing partnerships with China.
That is why the Energy-Environment-Climate triangle constituted one of the priority issues addressed at the intergovernmental consultations. Both countries – working from totally different premises – have decided to implement structural change towards a ‘green economy’: Germany has adopted an ambitious energy concept that includes phasing out nuclear energy and developing renewable energy. The Chinese central government’s 12th Five-Year Plan is based on qualitatively sustainable rather than purely quantitative growth.
Development cooperation
After embarking on its opening-up policy in 1978 and implementing a series of gradual economic reforms, the People’s Republic of China has undergone unprecedented development and in recent years has made a major contribution to attaining the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015.
In 2009, the German Federal Government decided to end traditional development cooperation with China and has since made no new financial commitments. All ongoing programmes are to be completed in the course of the next few years and new forms of cooperation with China are to be developed as part of a strategic partnership. This also involves providing support for China’s ongoing reform policy, assisting the country in its efforts to make its economic system sustainable – or at least more sustainable –and helping to ensure the country’s internal and external stability and reduce its ecological footprint.
In November 2009, the German and Chinese governments adopted a joint strategic development partnership focusing on the following sectors: climate, the environment and energy as well as economic and legal reform. This equal partnership is based on shared strategic interests, such as were agreed in the two countries’ joint declaration issued during the German Federal Chancellor’s visit to China in July 2010. In this new development partnership, the two sides’ contributions are geared to China’s development status and performance capabilities. Another goal is to achieve greater involvement of German businesses wherever possible.
Scientific and technological cooperation
Cooperation in science and technology has steadily evolved over a period of more than 30 years. Germany and China have become partners cooperating on an equal footing.
For a number of years now, there has also been successful cooperation in the education sector. Cooperation between universities and institutions involved in vocational training and further education is being constantly expanded. The key partners are, on the German side, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and, on the Chinese side, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Education (MOE).
At the 2011intergovernmental consultations, the BMBF and its Chinese counterparts MOE and MOST signed a total of five joint declarations on education and research issues.
1) Joint declarations on the promotion of comprehensive cooperation and the establishment of a strategic partnership in higher education
2) Joint declaration of intent on the establishment of a Sino-German vocational training alliance
3) Joint declaration on the Sino-German platform for life science innovation
4) Joint declaration on building a Sino-German innovation platform
5) Joint declaration on a Sino-German research and innovation programme ‘Clean Water’
To improve long-term structural cooperation between Germany and China, joint research and development projects have also been launched in sunrise sectors such as climate, energy and health research.
Project cooperation between Chinese and German research partners has continuously evolved in many areas, including both the high-tech sector and environmental and basic research. Federal Research Minister Schavan and China’s Minister of Science and Technology, Wan Gang, have agreed to step up cooperation on the issues of climate change, resource efficiency, environmental technology and infection research.
For many years now, there has been very close cooperation between German and Chinese research institutions. Along with the Sino-German Centre for Science Promotion, which is jointly run by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in Beijing, the Fraunhofer Society has opened two institutes together with the High Technology Research and Development Center at Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics: the Sino-German Joint Software Institute (JSI) in Beijing, and the Sino-German Mobile Communication Institute (MCI) in Berlin. In 2005, the Max Planck Society (MPS) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) set up a joint Institute for Computational Biology in Shanghai. Since 2004, the Leibniz Association (WGL) has been working to implement a network comprising WGL research institutions, Chinese research institutes and industrial partners on both sides. Its task is to isolate, characterize and test biologically active substances derived from plants known in traditional Chinese medicine. Over the past five years, marine and ecosystems research has become increasingly important in the WGL’s bilateral cooperation. In 2011, the Center for Sino-German Cooperation in Marine Sciences in Qingdao was co-founded by the Ocean University of China, the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Kiel and the Leibniz Centre for Marine Tropical Ecology at the University of Bremen.
The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (HGF) cooperates in an extensive network with leading Chinese institutions in areas such as environmental, health and energy research.
Cultural exchange
Since embarking on its reform and opening-up policy, China has gradually opened up to foreign culture. Parallel to this, the Chinese government has for some years now been stepping up its efforts to spread the Chinese language and Chinese culture abroad. It sees this as a contribution to promoting international understanding and improving China’s image abroad. This job is being done by both state cultural institutions (‘cultural centres’) and the Confucius Institutes, which mostly take the form of university cooperation arrangements and are now represented at twelve German locations (Berlin, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Erlangen, Frankfurt/Main, Freiburg, Hamburg, Hanover, Heidelberg, Munich, Leipzig and Trier). In 2012, China is organizing a Year of Chinese Culture in Germany featuring more than 500 cultural events and discussions (external link, opens in new windowwww.cn2012de.com), relying on Sino-German town twinning arrangements as well as partnerships between concert and exhibition halls on both sides. The Year of Chinese Culture in Germany is being held to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the People’s Republic of China. The main aim is to present contemporary Chinese art and culture (music, theatre, dance, literature, film and the fine arts) to the German public.
The series of events ‘Germany and China – Moving Ahead Together’, which was organized by the Federal Foreign Office and was concluded in summer 2010 at the EXPO in Shanghai, is continuing, in modified form, in 2011 and 2012 in four Chinese cities – Shenyang, Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing – with projects focusing on sustainable urbanization. With this series of events, Germany is offering to partner with China to jointly develop solutions to the challenges posed by the rapid process of urbanization. In addition, numerous projects involving exhibitions, discussions and concerts are planned in China to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the People’s Republic of China.
Privately organized cultural exchange is also gaining importance. In recent years, for example, numerous outstanding German orchestras, opera and ballet companies have gone on tour in China. The same is true of the arts sector: in addition to major state-supported exhibitions, private galleries and art fairs are making an important contribution. In view of this, a separate chapter is devoted to cultural exchange in the Sino-German joint communiqué signed in July 2010.
A new high point in cultural exchange is the major exhibition ‘The Art of Enlightenment’, which was on show from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 at the newly opened National Museum of China. The exhibition showcases ideas relating to the European Enlightenment and is accompanied by a series of lectures and discussions under the heading ‘Enlightenment in Dialogue’.
The principal German cultural intermediaries in China are the Goethe Institute in Beijing and its branch office in Shanghai, several German language, information and learning centres and the Book Information Centre Beijing.
Educational exchange
The ‘Schools: Partners for the Future’ initiative (PASCH), which was launched in 2007 and set out to increase the number of pupils learning German and provide further training for teachers of German, is being successfully implemented in China. Involved in this initiative with their own experts on the ground are the Goethe Institute, the Central Agency for Schools Abroad and the Educational Exchange Service. There are now 76 PASCH schools being looked after by the German side.
The German International Schools in Beijing and Shanghai are helping to spread the German language in China as well as serving as important places of cultural encounter. There are also two German International Schools in Changchun and Fuzhou as well as German sections at international schools in Wuxi, Suzhou, Guangzhou (Canton), Shenyang and Tianjin. German departments are being established in Nanjing and Shenzhen.
In 2011, some 36,000 Chinese students enrolled in programmes offering German as a foreign language at Chinese universities. A bachelor’s degree in German can be obtained at 72 universities in China.
In the same year, there were approximately 24,000 Chinese students enrolled at German universities, making them the largest group of foreign students. Engineering programmes are especially popular with these students. Applicants wishing to study in Germany, Austria and Belgium are served by the Academic Evaluation Centre Beijing (APS), a joint service provided by the DAAD and the German Embassy.
By contrast, there were only about 4,000 German students enrolled at Chinese universities, three-quarters of them short-term students. Few German students are able to follow Chinese-language instruction in other subjects, most of them enrolling in language courses.
The number of cooperation projects between German and Chinese universities and other higher education institutions has risen to over 580. The DAAD provides resources including scholarships and academic teachers to coordinate and support academic exchange in both directions.