Expectations from Merkel's 7th China trip
- By Liu Zuokui
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 5, 2014
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit China from July 6-8, invited by his Chinese counterpart Premier Li Keqiang.
The visit, despite being part of the routine intergovernmental meeting mechanism between the two countries, still carries unusual significance as it is Merkel's first trip to China since her second reelection as the top German leader. The trip will also mark the first major visit by a European leader to China since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a series of cooperative measures in March this year.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel (center) watches as CEO of Berlins ALBA Group company Axel Schweitzer (right) hands over a shirt of the ALBA Berlin basketball team to President Xi Jinping (left), after a contract singing ceremony at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany on March 28, 2014. [Photo China Daily] |
Hence, during the upcoming visit, Merkel and the Chinese leaders will set the tone for future China-Germany and even China-Europe cooperation, and there will be an opportunity to show how Germany has reacted to China's recent international strategies.
China is placing more value on Germany for its role in the Chinese diplomacy. Germany's status and influence in Europe is now recognized by China, evident in China's recognition of Germany's outstanding performance in the European debt crisis, which resulted both in Berlin's enhanced voice in the European Union and its dominant share in EU-China trade.
Close contact involving various topics has always been a feature of bilateral ties. During President Xi's latest Europe visit, Frankfurt beat London and Paris to host the first offshore renminbi trading center in the eurozone. The People's Bank of China and Deutsche Bundesbank, the central banks of two countries, signed a MoU for the alliance, which in part signaled that China-Germany ties were entering the best period in history.
The following features and tendencies in the recent developments in China-Germany ties will help consolidate relations between Beijing and Berlin:
First, Germany is paying attention to China's major strategy shift, and is looking for opportunities from it.
For example, Germany understands that the new idea to build the Silk Road Economic Belt contains opportunities, as President Xi visited the Port of Duisburg this March, to review how the German city would be an important link in the project. Xi's proposal to consolidate bilateral ties was highly valued by all sectors in Germany.
