From May 10 to May 14, at the invitation of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES, Germany) and German Development Institute (DIE), SIIS delegation led by President Chen Dongxiao visited Berlin. During the stay, the delegation met with MP Dietmar Nietan, treasurer of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), MP Niels Annen, Spokesman on Foreign Affairs of the SPD Parliamentary Group, Mr. Kurt Beck, Chairman of FES and former Minister President of Rheinland-Pfalz State, Mr. Wolfgang Schmidt, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Hamburg State, Mr. Thomas Bagger, Head of Policy Planning at German Federal Foreign Ministry, and Mr. Volker Perthes, Chairman and Director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). The two sides exchanged views on the prospect of China-EU relation, refugee crisis, EU’s structural changes in face of Euro challenge, China-Germany’s joint efforts in addressing global and regional crises, U.S. presidential election, and cooperation between Chinese and German think tanks. Accompanied by Ms. Christiane Kesper, Director of the International Cooperation Department of FES, the delegation also met with Mr. Shi Mingde, Chinese ambassador to Germany, and sought his opinions on Central-East-Europe Phenomenon, the prospect of European integration, and G20 agenda during presidencies of China and Germany.
During his stay in Germany, President Chen Dongxiao also attended the Berlin T20 Conference. He delivered an opening remark and chaired the last session at the conference.
Moreover, at the FES “China Breakfast”, President Chen delivered a keynote speech on the new era of China’s diplomacy and China’s role in handling global conflicts. As a guest speaker at the reception hosted by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), President Chen also exchanged views on G20 addressing regional fragmentation with T20 scholars.