Schiller Institute and Chinese Think-Tank Organize Event in Berlin

April 18—A highly successful seminar on “China-Europe Dialogue on Global Governance as Well as Civilizational Exchange and Mutual Learning,” organized by the Schiller Institute and the Beijing-based Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS) took place in Berlin on April 15. Prominent speakers from Germany and China took the podium and engaged in a dialogue, articulated in two panels, moderated by Stephan Ossenkopp from the Schiller Institute and by Hu Yajuan from the ACCWS.

The event was opened by Gao Anming, editor of the China International Communications Group (CICG), Schiller Institute founder and chairwoman Helga Zepp-LaRouche, and Ms. Yang Chengcheng, Minister-Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Berlin.

The Ode to Joy

Gao started his speech by referring to Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy poem. He described the current world situation as characterized by “changes and tensions.” “Power politics poses the biggest challenge since World War II, and a China-Europe dialogue can be a factor of stability.” The construction of a true multilateralism to shape the future of humanity and reform the financial architecture are the tasks ahead of us. Gao emphasized the importance of the decision, incorporated in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, to increase the “step-by-step opening” of the Chinese economy, and concluded his speech by calling for deepening reciprocal knowledge, as Leibniz had done 300 years earlier.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche started with the positive note that the world has the chance to overcome 500 years of colonialism and should not take the ongoing epochal change as a threat. She chastised the Western attitude of looking at China with “augmented-reality spectacles,” not seeing the tremendous achievement China has made since 1971, when she first visited the country. She then went into the immediate task ahead, of solving conflicts, starting with Southwest Asia, where, if a nuclear war does not break out, there must be an “enlarged Oasis Plan” that includes Africa. The Schiller Institute has produced a report on the perspectives of a tripartite Europe-China-Africa development strategy that is consistent with Africa’s own 2063 Agenda. The second edition of the report is available in a few advanced copies. Xi Jinping’s Global Governance Initiative also reflects principles laid out by the Schiller Institute’s own proposals. Not accidentally, the Schiller Institute’s complete name is “Association for Statecraft.”

Ms. Yang welcomed participants and outlined the promising perspectives of China-German cooperation. China’s economy grew 5% in the first quarter of 2026 and will further open itself to foreign investments, as it was stressed during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Feb. 25-26 visit. She mentioned that BASF had opened the world’s most modern chemical plant in China, as an example of the broad potential for cooperation between the world’s second and third largest economies.

Cooperation, Not Conflict

The first panel, “Quality Opening as Engine of Global Governance,” was opened by ACCWS deputy director Fan Daqi, who briefly presented the result of a research paper by his institute. The paper shows the complementarity of the two economies and the perspective of cooperation in third state markets. He called for strengthening institutional guarantees. He was followed by Michael Bose, chairman of Automotive Berlin Brandenburg (ABB), who addressed the “complex interrelations” of the automobile industry. Comparing the German auto industry with the Chinese one today, you must admit that the “teachers have become students.”

Shi Shiwei, director of the Research Center for German-Chinese Trade at the University of International Business and Economics, went into detail on all innovative sectors in which investments should be directed as priority according to the new five-year plan, which are significant for Germany.

Bernd Einmeier, chairman of the German-Chinese Society for Economy, Education and Culture, stated bluntly that “Germany has no idea of what China is.” He highlighted the high symbolism of the treatment given to Friedrich Merz’s visit to China, as Chinese leaders accepted to receive him on the day of their most important traditional period, the New Year celebrations.

Oliver Lubich, Sales manager at Hainan Airlines in Berlin, said that the potential for air traffic between the German capital and Hainan is much larger than the 55 flights currently established by treaty.

At the end of the panel, moderated by Stephan Ossenkopp, the speakers joined the podium for two rounds of questions. Importantly, Einmeier pointed to the different quality of teaching in German and Chinese gymnasia and proposed to integrate the two systems. Director Shi criticized the EU 2030 strategy, which is “focused on only one thing.”

Opposition to Decoupling

The second panel, “Civilizational Exchange and Mutual Learning,” was moderated by Hu Yajuan and was opened by Michael Müller, former mayor of Berlin and member of the Bundestag, the German Parliament. Müller recalled how he opposed the idea of “decoupling” from China when the issue was discussed in German political circles, and is happy that it has been rejected. “We should discuss not if, but how to develop cooperation,” he said. His experience as mayor tells him that a lot can be done with partnerships at municipal level. Another field where cooperation can advance is science. The third issue is BRICS: it is a reality which one must face. Fourth, climate and demography. “There is not one single crisis which either we or China, alone, can solve.” Müller insisted that in a partnership, both parties must have the right also to address critical aspects.

Cord Eberspächer, a sinologist and historian at the Bonn University, reminded that Confucius insisted that “the right content of terms” must be clarified before starting a dialogue. Another way to say this is “reason as precondition,” a curiosity for learning which was key in Leibniz’s fundamental work on China. Unfortunately, this did not occur today. Dialogue is meant differently in China and the West. The West believes that its idea of values is the right one, Eberspächer said in a veiled answer to Müller. So, when Germany sells cars to every country in the world it is called “successful export economy,” but when the Chinese do the same thing, it is called “overcapacity.”

Zhou Hengxiang, Germanist and author, addressed the issue of differences between the German and the Chinese system of Law. He gave the example of how the German terms “person” and “Man” (human being) are merged in one single term in the Chinese system, thus making it less “clean” to extend the legal term from human beings to corporations etc.

Rainer Dumpff, CEO of Dumpff Project Management, reported about his decades-long experience in China, from where, as a young man, wanted to know China in two weeks and soon realized that that was impossible. Among others, he has worked with the Aeronautic industry and has represented the Dresdner Festspiele (musical festival) in China.

Yuan Jie, Germanist and columnist, highlighted the recent positive shift in the German government attitude towards China, mentioning statements by Industry minister Katherina Reiche in a video connection to the inauguration of the BASF plant mentioned above, and Merz’s statements on the eve of his visit to China, burying decoupling forever. And the German International Chamber of Commerce called China “a reliable partner.”

In the following podium’s interviews with the panelists, the question was posed: where do prejudices come from? Eberspächer, among others, said they come from ignorance, and joined the call for more learning about China in schools.

The event was judged by all participants as a promising starting point towards a paradigmatic change in Germany China relations.