Germany and China are strengthening cooperation

Germany and China want to further intensify their cooperation in research and innovation. These were the messages which Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Federal Research Minister Johanna Wanka, China’s Premier Li Keqiang, and Professor Wanka's Chinese counterpart Wan Gang emphasized at the Sino-German Innovation Forum in Berlin on 1 June 2017. New priorities of cooperation will be research and development of Industrie 4.0 and electromobility.

Gruppenbild: Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel, der chinesische Ministerpräsident Li Keqiang, Bundesforschungsministerin Johanna Wanka und ihr chinesischer Amtskollege Wan Gang beim Innovationsforum in Berlin

© BMBF | Hans-Joachim Rickel

Germany’s Federal Research Ministry (BMBF) spends roughly 20 million euros per year on the implementation of its China Strategy 2015-2020. Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel also proposed establishment of a joint research fund to ensure a reliable framework for strategic cooperation with China. The fund is to be launched in 2018 and, as of 2020, will be endowed with up to four million euros from each side every year.

Germany is also aiming for good cooperation with China in other ways: This includes guaranteed and fair market access and enabling the German research and intermediary organizations to work in China without restrictions. This is the only way to make sure that companies and research institutions become involved in the cooperation.

China has joined the world's major research nations and is engaged in systematic development of its innovation capacity. Both China and Germany have put innovation at the focus of their economic and societal development. This not only positions China as a competitor but also as a key partner in research and development in the search for solutions to global challenges.

Source: BMBF