Cole and the Development of Sino-German Relations
Former German Chancellor helmut kohl (1930-2017). Oriental IC data map
On June 16, 2017, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl passed away at the age of 87. Cole was born into a Catholic family in ludwigshafen, Germany on April 3, 1930. From 1982 to 1998, he served as the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany and the unified Germany, witnessing the unification of the two Germans.
Cole visited China four times during his tenure as Prime Minister, which made positive contributions to the development of Sino-German relations. He was called "an active promoter of Sino-German relations and an old friend of the German people" by German leaders. In fact, as early as 1974, before China’s reform and opening up, Kohl visited China and became one of the earliest politicians in the Federal Republic of Germany to visit China. This paper focuses on reviewing Kohl’s outstanding contribution to the development of Sino-German relations, so as to cherish the memory of this great politician.
First, Cole’s first trip to China
In 1972, China established diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany, but for a long time after that, the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) government still regarded the Soviet Union as the focus in its New Oriental policy, unwilling to offend the Soviet Union by developing diplomatic relations with China. Therefore, the Federal German government’s political contacts with China are very cold. "Doing (economic) business with Beijing and talking about detente with Moscow" has become an important feature of the Federal German government’s policy towards China and the Soviet Union, two eastern powers.
In contrast, Cole’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) not only played an important role in the process of establishing diplomatic relations between China and the Federal Republic of Germany, but also became the main political force of the Federal Republic of Germany to promote the development of bilateral relations between the two countries after the establishment of diplomatic relations. In 1971, the visit of CDU party member and former Federal German Foreign Minister Gerhard Schr?der (1910-1989) to China became a prelude to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Franz Josef Strauss (1915-1988), the leader of Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of CDU in the Bundestag, also visited China many times and held talks with Mao Zedong.
Before Cole’s first visit to China in September, 1974, Willy Brandt (1913-1992) had resigned as prime minister, and the Social Democratic Party began to make adjustments to its China policy. The CDU still held the initiative in its China policy. Cole, who has become the chairman of the CDU and the governor of rheinland-pfalz, held talks with Deng Xiaoping, then the deputy prime minister of the State Council, and established a personal friendly relationship with Deng Xiaoping. This visit to China has deepened his understanding of China, and he thinks: "As a potential superpower, China plays a decisive role in international politics. China’s support for Western European Union and German reunification is very important. "
Second, promote the development of Sino-German relations in the 1980s
In 1982, the Social Democratic Party government, which had been in power for more than ten years, went out of office, and the CDU regained the position of Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany also changed from Helmut Schmidt (1918-2015) to Kohl. The relationship between China and the Federal Republic of Germany has ushered in a more rapid development.
In October 1984, Cole visited China for the first time as Prime Minister. According to the Germans at this time, a "revolution" is taking place in China, and Deng Xiaoping is regarded as the leader of this revolution. The Federal German reporter who visited China with Cole at the same time believed that the Chinese side showed a brand-new external appearance in the reception process, "from exporting revolutionary ideology to praising the market economy". During his current visit to China, Cole’s conversation with Deng Xiaoping, who is leading China’s reform and opening up, is also more relaxed than it was 10 years ago. The two sides not only talked about state affairs, but also had a relaxed exchange on issues such as height and longevity. In order to show respect for this guest and attach importance to the technology of the Federal Republic of Germany, Deng Xiaoping even said modestly to Cole that it will take China another 50 years to catch up with the economic level of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Cole told the Bundestag after returning home that China and the Federal Republic of Germany have a lot in common on issues such as safeguarding world peace, European union and dealing with national division. In a government statement on October 18th, 1984, he emphasized China’s important position in world politics as the world’s most populous country, a nuclear power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and pointed out that "China’s opening to the world and its modernization process will not be reversed".
Cole’s trip has also greatly promoted the economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries. More than 20 people from the industrial and commercial circles of the Federal Republic of Germany came to China to discuss with the Chinese side such issues as nuclear power plants, television satellites and Sino-German joint-venture automobile enterprises. During his current visit to China, Cole personally witnessed the signing ceremony of Shanghai Volkswagen Co., Ltd., a joint venture between the two countries and one of the models of Sino-foreign joint ventures. Tongji University, also located in Shanghai, has a long history with Germany and was once the focus of Germany’s cultural policy toward China. During Cole’s first visit to China, he visited Tongji University on October 13th, which was the first visit to Tongji University by the Federal Chancellor after the founding of New China. During his visit to Tongji University, Cole pointed out that he hoped Tongji University students would become a bridge between the two countries. By 1987, the number of China students studying and studying in the Federal Republic of Germany had reached 2,150, which was the largest among China students in western European countries.
The closer relationship between China and the Federal Republic of Germany indirectly urges the Democratic Republic of Germany, another country of the German nation, to accelerate the normalization of relations with China. Since 1960, the relationship between China and the GDR once deteriorated to the brink of breaking off diplomatic relations. After 1976, the GDR observed the political and economic situation in China for a long time, and became the first country in the Soviet-East camp to normalize relations with China before the Soviet Union. It regards China not only as a force that can be used in diplomacy and international politics, but also as an economic partner with great potential. Cole’s visit to China put great pressure on the top political leaders of GDR. Erich Honecker (1912-1994), the leader of the GDR, pointed out that the cooperation between China and the Federal Republic of Germany and other western countries "will only benefit the reactionary forces of international imperialism" and lead to "Beijing’s hostility to socialist countries", and the GDR urgently needs to normalize relations with China.
Against this background, in October 1986, two years after Cole’s visit to China, honecker, the first figure in the GDR, finally successfully completed his planned visit to China for many years. The normalization of the relationship between China and the GDR means that the relationship between China and the two Germans has begun to emerge from the shadow of the Cold War.
When Cole came to China again as Prime Minister in July 1987, he was called "an old friend of the people of China" by China leaders at that time. In fact, before his visit to China, both the political and economic circles of the Federal Republic of Germany were uncertain about the domestic situation and future development of China at that time. When meeting with Cole, Deng Xiaoping, then director of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Advisory Committee, said that China’s reform and opening-up process will continue, and there are no contradictions and disputes between China and the Federal Republic of Germany. Therefore, long-term cooperation between the two countries is entirely possible. Cole said, "China’s great development can be seen everywhere", "China is constantly fighting against backwardness and complacency with vigorous energy".
At this time, the economic and trade relations between the two countries continued to develop rapidly, and the trade volume between the two sides reached 8.9 billion marks. The Federal Republic of Germany has become the fourth largest trading partner of China after Hong Kong, China, Japan and the United States. However, due to the lack of foreign exchange and huge trade deficit in China at that time, the export of the Federal Republic of Germany to China was greatly restricted, making it difficult to further expand and many large-scale projects were difficult to carry out. To this end, the Federal Republic of Germany has increased its efforts to provide government loans to China in order to promote the growth of exports to China. A representative project is the Metro Line 1 built for Shanghai by the Federal Government of Germany. On the condition of government loans, the Federal Republic of Germany also exported its trains and electric equipment to China.
Cole’s trip is also trying to solve the problem that the Federal Republic of Germany has less investment in China. At that time, among the 3,000 Sino-foreign joint ventures in China, there were only 19 joint ventures between China and the Federal Republic of Germany. During this trip, Kohl reached an agreement with Chinese leaders that the two sides will set up a special expert group to discuss the investment of Federal German enterprises in China every year.
Thanks to the joint efforts of senior leaders of both sides, throughout the 1980s, China and the Federal Republic of Germany exchanged more than 20 visits of officials at the level of deputy minister or above each year. During these mutual visits, the issue of economic and trade cooperation has become the central topic of both sides. Trade between the two countries also increased rapidly from $3.141 billion in 1985 to $4.918 billion in 1988. The advanced scientific and technological experience, products and strong financial strength of the Federal Republic of Germany have greatly helped China’s reform and opening up.
Third, respond to the crisis of Sino-German relations
Cole’s other great contribution to Sino-German relations was to maintain bilateral relations in the crisis of 1989, so that they did not fall into further deterioration.
In 1989, the international situation was in a period of intense turmoil and transition, and both China and the Federal Republic of Germany were faced with great challenges. The collapse of socialism in the Democratic Republic of Germany and the wave of reunification of the two Germans have made the (federal) German society more tough on the ideological issue of China, which is also a socialist country. After the political turmoil in China in June 1989, the Bundestag immediately announced sanctions against China. These sanctions mainly include suspending high-level political exchanges, re-examining cooperation projects between the two countries, no longer providing loans and stopping development assistance to China. The deterioration of bilateral political relations between the two countries has directly led to a sharp decline in trade, scientific and cultural exchanges between the two countries. The relationship between China and the Federal Republic of Germany is in the biggest crisis since the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The economic circles of the Federal Republic of Germany expressed their worries and dissatisfaction with the economic sanctions against China. As Heinrich Weiss, who was the chairman of the China Working Group of the Asia-Pacific Committee of the (Federal) German economic circles from 1982 to 1997, said, the punitive measures taken by the government for too long at that time not only caused short-term trade losses, but also damaged the priority position of the Federal Republic of Germany in trade with China. However, despite domestic sanctions, Federal German enterprises continue to develop relations with China. Volkswagen announced in July 1989 that it would expand the production of Shanghai Volkswagen. At the end of November 1990, Volkswagen and Changchun FAW agreed to establish a joint venture to produce Audi cars.
We now know that it was the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Social Democratic Party that actively encouraged sanctions against China at that time. In contrast, the Federal Government of Germany led by Cole tried to maintain the relations between the two countries in a difficult situation. Regarding the domestic situation in China, the basic judgment of the Federal German government is that "it is in China’s actual interests to continue reform and opening up, while the continued tough sanctions imposed on China by the outside world are not conducive to this development". Therefore, "the existing development assistance projects guaranteed by contracts should continue". A document issued by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany on June 9, 1989 not only holds that the government should resist sanctions such as stopping development assistance and recalling its ambassador to China, but also points out that "we can only influence China if we maintain relations with it" and that "continuing to isolate China will destroy the international balance of power, which is not in our interest".
On August 15th, the document of the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany pointed out that the continued sanctions imposed by the Federal Republic of Germany and the West on China may bring China and the Soviet Union closer together politically and economically, thus changing the balance of international political power, which is unfavorable to the Federal Republic of Germany. The goal of the Federal Republic of Germany’s China policy is to prevent China from falling into international isolation and readjusting the policy of reform and opening up. Therefore, "the Federal Republic of Germany will resume high-level exchanges with China step by step".
In practice, the Federal German government not only rejected the Social Democratic Party’s request to temporarily close the Goethe Institute in Beijing (established in 1988) and stop scientific and technological cooperation with China, thus maintaining the cultural relations between the two countries, but also tried to maintain the cooperation projects between the two countries, including the Shanghai subway aided by the Federal Republic of Germany. In late May 1991, before the Bundestag officially lifted the sanctions against China, the unified German Foreign Ministry resumed political consultations with China. The State Secretary of the German Ministry of Economy and the Minister of Economy also visited China successively. During this period, most of the high-ranking German politicians who visited China came from the German government or members of the Union Party in the parliament (such as Hans Klein, deputy speaker of the Bundestag who visited China at the end of January 1992).
We now know that all measures aimed at maintaining China’s relations with the Federal Republic of Germany at that time and normalizing relations with China were "jointly carried out by the (Federal) German government and its Foreign Ministry". Cole, as the then prime minister of the government, undoubtedly played a key role in maintaining the relations between the two countries during the crisis in 1989, which eventually prompted the Bundestag to cancel the economic cooperation and export restrictions to China and provide development assistance to China again. At the end of October 1992, German Foreign Minister kinkel (1936-) visited China, which normalized Sino-German relations.
IV. Visit to China under the New Asia Policy Background
In October 1990, Germany was reunified. For reunified Germany, the Asia-Pacific region is an attractive but underinvested region. The temporary difficulties in German economy after reunification and the new situation in German diplomacy after reunification make it urgent for Germany to strengthen cooperation with China. It coincides with the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 1992, and the goal of economic reform is to establish a socialist market economic system. The 14th National Congress pointed out that whether China can accelerate its economic development is not only a major economic issue, but also a major political issue. In this case, China urgently needs investment from Germany and the resumption of Sino-German trade.
Compared with the United States, Germany’s economic and trade activities in the Asia-Pacific region are obviously insufficient. Winston Lord (1937-), then Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, once said: "No other region in the world is more important to the United States today than the Asia-Pacific." More than 20% of American foreign investment is in Asia. However, Germany’s investment in Asian countries is less than 5% of its total foreign investment.
In February and March of 1993, Cole visited India, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea. This visit made him deeply shocked by the vigorous development of Asian economy. Immediately after his return to China, he said that Asian affairs were the "priority" for Germany. During the talks with cabinet ministers, Kohl put forward a plan for Germany’s new Asian policy, which was approved at the cabinet meeting at the end of September. This document points out that Germany needs a "more active Asian policy", which will "guarantee Germany’s future".
Cole believes that Asia will become the most important continent in the 21st century. Strengthening economic ties with the fastest growing regions in the world is the central point of Germany’s Asian policy. In foreign affairs and foreign economic activities, Germany gives priority to Asia and Asia-Pacific countries, but no country in Asia is experiencing rapid economic development like China. He regards China as a country with global significance, and strengthening economic and trade exchanges with China is one of the focuses of this new Asian policy.
Cole’s visit to China in November 1993 was launched under this background. This is also the first time that German top leaders have visited China since reunification. Cole not only talked with the new leadership of China, but also successfully signed an economic cooperation contract of $2.927 billion. Through this visit to China, the relationship between Germany and China has accelerated.
By the time he visited China for the last time as German Chancellor in November, 1995, Sino-German relations, especially bilateral economic and trade relations, had grown. According to statistics, in 1997, Sino-German trade volume reached US$ 12.67 billion, accounting for one third of China-EU trade at that time. In 1996, a total of 963 German enterprises invested in China, with investment agreements amounting to more than US$ 8 billion, distributed in 1,886 projects. By 1998, China had imported 2,951 technology contracts from Germany, amounting to US$ 14.46 billion, second only to China’s technology imports from the United States. By the turn of the century, Germany has become the European country with the largest technology transfer to China.
Fifth, the aftertaste of Cole’s China policy
As a CDU politician, Cole has always viewed the relationship between the two countries from the realistic perspective of international balance of power since his first visit to China.. He has long regarded China as an important force that Germany can rely on on on the world stage, believed in the important role of China’s reform and opening up to Germany and the world, and tried to promote the development of bilateral relations by developing economic and trade relations.Most of Cole’s many visits to China during his tenure as Prime Minister also focused on economic and trade themes. This became an important tradition of Germany’s China policy, which was inherited by the later German political leaders..
Judging from the tradition of German foreign policy, Kohl’s insistence on maintaining and developing contacts with Chinese high-level officials in the crisis of relations between China and (the Federal Republic of) Germany is actually the embodiment of Germany’s strategy of "promoting evolution through proximity" to countries in the Soviet Union and East Europe. Of course, the result of foreign policy is often more complicated than the designer of the policy thinks. The relationship between the two countries that emerged from the crisis has gradually developed and expanded in recent years. The deepening and further development of economic and trade exchanges between the two countries has promoted the further development and consolidation of bilateral relations in humanities, science and technology, society and especially important political and diplomatic fields. In 2014, the Sino-German Cooperation Action Program jointly issued by the Chinese and German governments pointed out that "Sino-German economic and trade relations are the core component of bilateral relations".
At present, Germany is China’s largest trading partner in the EU, and China has become Germany’s largest trading partner in the world (in 2016). On the basis of strengthening economic and trade exchanges, China and Germany have gradually established close interdependence. The exchanges between the two countries not only enabled the Federal Republic of Germany to "further enter the stage of world politics", but also provided a model for cooperation between countries with different systems.