According to the itinerary revealed by both sides, Scholz's visit was not long, but it was an "official visit". Against the backdrop of the current turbulent world pattern, this visit across the Eurasian continent has many highlights and attracted much attention.
Data map: On December 8, 2021 local time, the German Bundestag officially elected SPD Prime Minister candidate Scholz as the new German Chancellor. The picture shows Scholz accepting a letter of appointment by German President Steinmeier at the Presidential Palace.
Shuerz's visit to China has set several "first"
First look at the tags marked by international public opinion on Scholz's visit:
1. This is the first time Scholz has visited China since he took office as the German Chancellor.
In terms of Sino-German relations, China last received a visit from the German Chancellor in September 2019. At that time, then German Chancellor Merkel made his 12th visit to China during his tenure.
htmlIn the past 2003, the century-long changes have been superimposed with the century-old epidemic. Whether it is the world situation, China-Germany and China-Europe relations have added more "uncertainty". This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. The significance of the leaders of the two countries is self-evident.2. This is the first Western power leader to visit China after the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Western public opinion calls the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China a historic meeting "the greatest influence in decades". Scholz's visit is less than two weeks away from the end of the 20th National Congress. The special time is another perspective of the outside world's observation of the visit.
Before Scholz, China's home diplomacy also welcomed guests including General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong , Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan , and President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the United Republic of Tanzania. Some overseas media commented that intensive reception of international political leaders is also China's commitment to "create more opportunities for the world with its own development."
3. This is the first time that European leaders have visited China since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
It has to be said that Scholz's visit to China this time was a procession against the background of eliminating a lot of noise interference. Under the influence of the rise of Cold War thinking and ideological prejudice, in some Western countries, anti-China is increasingly becoming the so-called "political correctness". Some commentators said that in Europe, where the Ukrainian crisis continues and the energy crisis is spreading, what attitude should it maintain towards China? It can be said that Scholz's visit to China is itself a strong signal.
Data map: On December 8, 2021 local time, the new German Prime Minister Scholz and all members of the new government cabinet were sworn in the German Bundestag in Berlin.
The "business boss" with a luxurious lineup
Volkswagen, BMW , Siemens , adidas, Bayer , Deutsche Bank ... This is a German brand well-known to the Chinese people, and a member of the economic delegation who visited Scholz with him recently disclosed by the German media.
The German Business Daily disclosed that the business delegation consists of 12 senior German corporate executives. The report also said that about 100 people applied to join the delegation.
Indeed, economic and trade relations are the ballast of Sino-German relations. China has become Germany's most important trading partner for six consecutive years. Data from the German Federal Statistics Office shows that in 2021, Germany's imports from China increased by 20.8% compared with 2020; exports to China increased by 8.1% compared with 2020. Against the backdrop of the global epidemic and the resurgence of protectionism, it is not easy for China-Germany trade volume to rise against the trend and hit a new high.
Bo Mule, the executive board chairman of BASF Europe, who accompanied this time, told the media that the visit to China is a "good signal", which shows that "we are open to dialogue" and "we are constantly interested in connection with China."
In October this year, Scholz made a high-profile statement that he firmly supported globalization and opposed "decoupling" from China.He believes that Germany must establish a broader and more stable trade relationship with EU , not only cannot decouple from individual countries, but also "must trade with many countries, including China, with emerging countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America."
Also in October, the German government officially approved the Chinese-funded enterprise COSCO Shipping Group to acquire part of the equity of the container terminal of the Hamburg port warehousing and logistics company "Fu Di".
In the view of observers, these actions of the German government reflect their "sober" and "balance" in dealing with relations with China.
"Sober, that is, Germany knows that it is necessary to consider China's relations from its own national interests. Decoupling or even getting into evil is not in line with Germany's interests. Balance means that even if there are unfriendly to China from both inside and outside and the voices of questioning China's relations, the German leaders will still show their own and pragmatic understanding of China." said Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University, .
Data map: On July 1, 2020, local time, in Berlin, Germany, three flags representing the EU, Germany and Germany as the rotating presidency of the EU were hung from left to right in front of the German Parliament.
A landmark event in China-Europe relations
As the "locomotive" of the European economy, many observers believe that Scholz's visit to China is also a landmark event in China-Europe relations.
In recent years, China-Europe relations have shown relatively complex and multifaceted nature. On the one hand, China and Europe are each other's important trading partners. According to data from , the EU's investment in China in , from January to August this year, investment in China increased by 123.7% year-on-year. European companies "voting with their feet" continue to be optimistic about the Chinese market and hope to deepen cooperation with China.
On the other hand, under the wave of anti-globalization, the coercion and gangs of the United States to contain China, there have been constant voices in European politics that are tough or "decoupling" or "breaking chains" against China.
Ding Chun said that the wave of anti-globalization, the Ukrainian crisis, the energy crisis, etc. have made Europe feel its relative weakness. Coupled with the induced coercion of the United States, Europe's sense of insecurity has increased, and on the other hand, the European economy needs China's huge market and relatively complete supply chain.
"Europe, which relies on the United States in terms of security, is very difficult to achieve strategic autonomy in the short term, but Scholz's visit to China itself can be regarded as a landmark event in China-Europe relations." Professor of the Institute of International Relations of the School of Diplomacy School of Li Haidong said that this high-level visit and the economic delegation accompanied him have already stated that handling relations with China with a pragmatic attitude is the most realistic need in Europe.
China's first full-time trip to domestic and overseas schedule China-Europe freight train is launched.
Recently, two news about China-Europe economic and trade have been focused by the media:
A news is that on October 26, China's first domestic and foreign full-time schedule, China-Europe freight train departs from Xi'an to Duisburg, Germany. The China-Europe Express, an average of 42 trains shuttle through the transportation link between China and 200 European cities every day, with higher transportation time and stronger market competitiveness.
Another news is that after the electric blanket, the popular "bare-legged artifact" in China (warm pantyhose ) in Europe has more than doubled its sales since October in Europe, and is loved by female consumers in many countries such as Netherlands , Germany, and France.
As experts say, no matter from which perspective, Europe and China are deeply integrated economies . There is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and Europe, cooperation is far greater than competition, and consensus is far greater than differences.
(China News Network)
