Chinese ambassador highlights broad prospects for Sino-German cooperation

Special Report: Premier Wen's "trip of Confidence" to Europe

by Ban Wei, Zheng Qihang, Shi Xiang

BERLIN, Jan. 28 (Chinese media) -- Chinese Ambassador to Germany Ma Canrong has expressed confidence in the long-term development of bilateral cooperation between China and Germany, which he said is becoming particularly important at a time of global economic crisis.

In a recent interview with Chinese media, Ma said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Germany and other European states is an important diplomatic activity of China at the start of the new year, which shows that China attaches great importance to developing relations with European countries.

"To exchange views and coordinate positions with developed nations in Europe, particularly against the background of the world economic crisis, is of great importance to confidence-building and seeking solutions to the crisis," Ma said.

He said Wen's visit is set to exert a positive impact on the future development of bilateral ties between China and Germany.

In general, Sino-German relations are in good shape with mutually-beneficial cooperation running smoothly in a number of areas, Ma said.

He highlighted the frequent close contacts between leaders and senior officials of the two countries over the past year, and the dialogue on global, judicial and economic issues as well as the bilateral consultations on human rights and disarmament.

On economic cooperation, Ma said bilateral trade at the end of Nov. 2008 amounted to 105 billion U.S. dollars, up 24.6 percent compared with the same period of 2007.

Ma said China and Germany in recent years have deepened their cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, and personal exchanges.

Eight Confucius Institutes have so far been set up in Germany. In May 2008, the Chinese Culture Center in Berlin was formally opened to the public, providing a new opportunity for Germans to know more about China.

In 2008, 400 young people from both countries exchanged visits and about 500,000 Chinese tourists chose Germany as their first overseas destination.

Despite the positive developments in bilateral relations, Ma said some differences do exist between China and Germany.

"It's quite normal for the two countries to have different views because of their different social systems, ideology, culture, and economic development," Ma said.

"The key is to deal with the differences in a way that prevents them from evolving into conflicts, and to reduce disagreements through more consultations and cooperation," he said.

Ma stressed that China and Germany do not pose a geopolitical threat to each other and have no direct conflict of interests. On the contrary, both countries have a growing influence in regional and world affairs and share more and more common interests.

Moreover, world peace and development requires more cooperation between China and Germany, he said.

"So long as China and Germany commit to cooperation based on equality and mutual benefit, there will be broad prospects for ourbilateral relations," Ma said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao left Beijing on Tuesday morning for official visits to Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Britain. He is also scheduled to visit the EU headquarters and attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.