Joining Hands with Green Development to Achieve Mutual Benefit and Win Win between China and Germany | Economy | Green
On June 20th, the 11th China Germany Economic and Technological Cooperation Forum was held in the German capital Berlin. The theme of this forum is "Joining Hands for Green Development". More than 200 representatives from the economic and business sectors of China and Germany focused on in-depth discussions on industrial transformation, energy revolution, technological innovation, and industrial development. Important consensus was reached, demonstrating the determination and confidence of China and Germany to jointly promote green transformation and tackle climate change, injecting new impetus into deepening economic and technological cooperation between China and Germany and promoting trade and investment exchanges between China and Europe.
Building an important platform for economic and technological cooperation between China and Germany
China and Germany are important partners for cooperation. Over the past 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have carried out extensive and in-depth friendly cooperation, especially in the field of economic and technological cooperation, gradually forming a new pattern of all-round and multi field cooperation. Since its establishment in 1995 by the leaders of both countries, the China Germany Economic and Technological Cooperation Forum has successfully held eleven sessions, promoting the landing of more than 200 major cooperation projects. It has become an important bilateral mechanism and cooperation platform in the economic and technological fields of China and Germany, playing an important role in promoting policy exchanges, project docking, and industrial cooperation between the two countries.
This forum is jointly organized by the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection of Germany. Zheng Zhajie, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, who attended the forum, pointed out that climate change is a global challenge that should be addressed through unity and cooperation. China and Germany should fully understand and respect each other's national conditions and development stages, and gather more consensus through dialogue and communication. Conduct joint research on major issues of mutual interest, such as energy transformation, industrial carbon reduction, and improving energy efficiency. Focusing on industries such as "wind and solar hydrogen storage", energy conservation and environmental protection, green buildings, and biological manufacturing, we will strengthen policy exchanges and talent cultivation, promote practical cooperation in technology, projects, and markets, and work together to promote green development.
The State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection, Brentner, stated that economic development and climate protection can go hand in hand. The governments of Germany and China have respectively set their own goals for achieving carbon neutrality. Through this platform, companies from both countries can further strengthen technological innovation, deepen industrial cooperation, and elevate their cooperation in climate protection and energy transformation to new heights.
Michael Hutter, director of the German Institute of Economics, said in a speech that both Germany and China have benefited greatly from economic globalization. The Chinese market is huge, and companies from both countries should adopt a more open attitude, tap into market potential, promote industrial transformation, and achieve common development.
During the forum, the governments of China and Germany signed a memorandum of understanding between the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Germany on establishing a dialogue and cooperation mechanism on climate change and green transformation. The two sides agreed to deepen dialogue and strengthen cooperation in the field of green and low-carbon development.
German Chancellor Scholz stated at the closing ceremony of the forum that both Germany and China hope to continue maintaining economic growth and benefit from economic and trade cooperation and mutual investment. I hope that the two countries can continue to deepen cooperation in addressing climate change and low-carbon transformation, and jointly promote the development of circular economy.
Jointly promoting industrial green and low-carbon transformation
Both China and Germany are major manufacturing countries, and although they are in different stages of development and have different resource endowments, they are active participants in global climate governance. Liu Dechun, Director of the Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection Department of the China Development and Reform Commission, stated at the forum that Germany's industrial green transformation is at the forefront of the world, and many enterprises have advanced technological levels, mature business models, and strong competitiveness. In recent years, China has also made significant progress in renewable energy, power batteries, and new energy vehicles. Both sides have enormous potential for cooperation in the field of green and low-carbon.
Cong Liang, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, stated that Chinese and German enterprises have a strong willingness to invest in both directions and share common development interests. We hope that entrepreneurs from both sides can seize the global technological revolution and industrial transformation, learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses, share opportunities, jointly promote economic and technological development, and cultivate new growth drivers.
Bukhard Dachmann, CEO of the German Siemens AG, stated that the steel industry is a major carbon emitter, and by using more green energy and effectively reducing carbon dioxide emissions in steel production, it can effectively promote green transformation. Simark is utilizing its technology in carbon reduction production and circular economy to support the construction of a green China.
Xiang Wenbo, the rotating chairman of China Sany Group, introduced the plan to build a new power system at the forum. In order to achieve green transformation, the company has vigorously laid out new energy industries such as wind energy, photovoltaic, hydrogen energy, and energy storage in recent years, and actively expanded overseas markets. He called for leveraging the advantages of both China and Germany, strengthening talent and technology exchanges, and jointly promoting the rapid popularization of green energy technology to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible.
Martin Selvey, Director of Electric Vehicles and Circular Economy at the German Langsheng Group, told reporters that China is the cornerstone of Langsheng's global business, and the company has established production and research and development bases in China. In recent years, the company has collaborated with Chinese partners to build a new type of power system mainly based on green energy, accelerate the low-carbon transformation of raw materials and production processes, and help China achieve its "dual carbon" goals.
Li Bin, Chairman of China NIO Automotive, said in an interview with reporters that climate change knows no borders and sustainable development requires close cooperation from the global business community. In the past few years, China's automotive industry has achieved great success in clean energy, now accounting for over 60% of the global production of new energy vehicles. "The cooperation between China and Germany in the automotive industry can enhance both sides' strength, and I am looking forward to the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of clean energy and new energy vehicles."
The standardization work in green transformation is of great significance for achieving the "dual carbon" goal. Florian Schpitler, a member of the Management Committee of the German Society for Standardization, was impressed by China's latest achievements in building an international standard system for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. He stated that the cooperation between Germany and China in the field of standardization has been ongoing for many years. With the continuous advancement of industrial transformation, standardization work in areas such as energy conservation, consumption reduction, and low-carbon emission reduction requires closer international cooperation.
Strengthening pragmatic cooperation in the field of renewable energy
Since the implementation of energy cooperation under the framework of the China Germany Economic and Technological Cooperation Forum in 2006, practical cooperation between China and Germany in the field of energy has achieved remarkable results. Currently, Germany is undergoing energy transformation, and China is actively promoting the energy revolution, both hoping to establish a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.
Jiang Yi, Chairman of China Huadian Corporation, stated at the forum that as the world's largest developing country, China is actively implementing a series of strategic measures to address climate change and has made positive progress in accelerating the development of clean energy. Over the past 10 years, China's non fossil energy installed capacity has increased by 2.8 times, with non fossil energy power generation accounting for nearly 51% of the total installed capacity. Among them, wind power has an installed capacity of 380 million kilowatts and photovoltaic power has an installed capacity of 440 million kilowatts. The installed scale and growth rate of wind and photovoltaic power have led the world, and China's new energy development has taken the lead in the world. China and Germany have broad cooperation space in the field of renewable energy.
Martin Hoffman, Director of Climate, Energy and Environment for East Asia at the German International Cooperation Agency, told reporters that at the forum, representatives from the governments and business communities of Germany and China had in-depth exchanges of views on sustainable development issues, and there was a high consensus on the necessity of energy transformation. The German International Cooperation Agency is entrusted by the federal government to carry out energy cooperation with China. By strengthening cooperation in this field, Germany and China can promote both sides to achieve energy transformation and mutual benefit.
According to Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL, CATL's power battery usage has been ranked first in the world for six consecutive years, and its cooperation with German companies such as BMW continues to deepen. The company has invested 1.8 billion euros to build a battery factory in Thuringia, Germany, providing services for low-carbon travel in Germany and Europe. "We uphold the principle of continuously promoting global green and low-carbon development through technological innovation."
Herck Klinger, Director of Hydrogen Energy Projects at Bosch Group in Germany, introduced that the company has deeply integrated into the development of the Chinese economy and grown together with the Chinese market. Currently, Bosch operates 59 companies in China with a total of 58000 employees. Bosch has invested heavily in the development, transportation, and storage of hydrogen energy, and its hydrogen research and development center has been established in China. The company is working hard to bring hydrogen energy technology out of the laboratory and towards industrial applications, achieving technology implementation in transportation and industrial scenarios.
"The Forum on Economic and Technological Cooperation between Germany and China is of great significance and will further promote cooperation between the two countries in areas such as industrial transformation and green development." Peter Fiss, President of Germany's Ascott Energy Company, told reporters that both Germany and China are important countries, and strengthening cooperation can achieve mutual benefit and win-win results for both sides. Ascott has established three factories in China to produce products such as energy storage batteries and inverters. "Our business in China is developing rapidly, and our performance has tripled since last year," he said. "I am very optimistic about the market potential in China."
