No global challenges can be resolved today without China, declared Chancellor Angela Merkel in her speech to students of Tsinghua University. It is vital " to safeguard the future rather than harming it".

Call for climate change mitigation

By 2050 the world population seems likely to reach the nine billion mark, said Angela Merkel. "We must ensure that the fact that there are more people in the world does not mean that more and more resources are consumed." The principle of sustainability is valid around the world, but it has not yet been translated into practice everywhere. "And that is why we must continue to work for this."

Angela Merkel also advocated an international climate agreement. "We need an international agreement. As you know, we aim to keep global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius. For that we will need a clear reduction in CO2 emissions with binding targets."

Human rights

In her address, Angela Merkel also mentioned the Sino-German human rights and rule-of-law dialogue, which focuses, she said, on the liberty of the individual and the diversity of society. She believes that this dialogue is important, she continued. Twenty-five years ago, during the peaceful revolution in the former German Democratic Republic, she was lucky enough to see first hand how suddenly liberty and an open exchange of opinions became possible.

During her trip the Chancellor had already visited the Sino-German Dialogue Forum in Chengdu, which concentrated on civil society development. The best development of a society "means for us that every individual has the chance to develop his or her potential, that human rights are respected, that civil liberties are upheld, including the freedom to express one’s own opinions", said the Chancellor. This embraces every aspect of society, "from art and culture to science and research". Environmental issues too are important, she added.

Joint innovations

During her visit to Beijing, the Chancellor declared herself satisfied with bilateral relations. Currently, 70 ongoing dialogue and cooperation arrangements are in place. The two sides have agreed to hold the third Sino-German government consultations in October in Berlin, she reported – "an important milestone".

One innovative focus of Sino-German cooperation is electric mobility. Angela Merkel underscored this in a speech at the Sino-German Electric Mobility Conference in Beijing. Today the foundations can be laid in China for needs-driven infrastructure, she said, with a special reference to charging stations. "The aim must obviously be to achieve genuine acceptance for electric mobility," said Angela Merkel.

With trade worth more than 140 billion euros in 2013, Germany is China’s largest European trading partner by a long way. China is Germany’s most important trading partner in Asia. The first Chinese chamber of commerce in Europe is to help extend economic relations and encourage investment.

Business and social aspects

In Chengdu, Angela Merkel also met with members of the Sino-German Dialogue Forum. She opened a conference on urban growth, visited a project for the children of migrant workers and toured a Volkswagen plant.

In her speech at the opening session of the urbanisation forum, she spoke of population growth in the world’s metropolises. It is a huge challenge, she said, to found universities, to meet the needs of young people for jobs and housing, to ensure traffic and transport systems and put in place public services, while coping with the problems caused by demographic change.

Now we must make urban growth processes as sustainable and efficient as possible for the future, she said.

Chengdu is the capital city of the Province of Sichuan, which, with a population of 81 million, is home to as many people as the whole of Germany.

Stepping up relations further

The Federal Republic of Germany and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1972. Over the decades relations have developed positively and have been stepped up across the board.

During the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Germany, Sino-German relations were upgraded in the form of a "comprehensive strategic partnership".

Since 2011 government consultations have also been held. Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited Germany in May 2013, as part of his first foreign trip in office. In March 2014 President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Germany as part of his first European trip in his capacity as President of China.

Differences of opinion persist between the two countries in the field of human rights, particularly with regard to individual liberties. Important cooperation instruments to further develop the rule of law include the rule-of-law dialogue and the annual bilateral human rights dialogue.