Schumann, Chairman of the German Federal Economic Development and Foreign Trade Association, accepts an exclusive interview with Beijing Daily
2021 coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China and the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan". Standing on the new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, the two sessions this year are of great significance and have attracted the attention of the world. A few days ago, Michael Schumann, chairman of the German Federal Economic Development and Foreign Trade Association (BWA), accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Beijing Daily. Schumann spoke highly of China's overall victory in the fight against poverty, and pointed out that this year's two conferences will provide new impetus for China's development.
Schumann said that apart from climate change, poverty is one of the biggest problems facing humanity all over the world. No matter what national conditions and social systems people live in, they should ensure their basic living needs. For a long time, the international community has not taken effective measures to alleviate poverty, and China has shown the world a Chinese plan for poverty alleviation. All countries in the world, especially political and business leaders, should study China’s experience and learn from China’s courage.
Schumann believes that through the recent two sessions, China's development has gained new impetus, and at the same time, it has also shown the world how to deal with international challenges during the epidemic. In the government work report, the Chinese government reasonably set the GDP growth target for 2021 at 6% or more, and once again emphasized striving to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, which will have an important impact on economic recovery and development on a global scale. .
Mentioning that this year's government work report pointed out that it is necessary to promote the early implementation of the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement and the signing of the China-EU investment agreement. Schumann expressed his warm welcome. He pointed out that the signing of these two agreements is fully in line with the development trend of multilateralism and global trade, and expects China to play a constructive role in the implementation of the agreement, and further promote the regional integration of the Asia-Pacific region and the development of EU-China relations. Further development.
Schumann emphasized that the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has had a lot of impact on both Germany and the European Union. German and EU politicians must be more clear, what role do they want to play in the future global economy? What contributions can be made? In the next few years, Europe must explore new paths for international cooperation during the epidemic, especially in the post-epidemic era, and must not rely solely on past successful experience.
Regarding Germany and the EU's future cooperation with China, Schumann pointed out that China has become Germany's most important trading partner for five consecutive years. According to preliminary statistics from the German Federal Statistical Office, the trade volume between Germany and China in 2020 will reach 212.1 billion Euros. Bilateral cooperation in the context of the epidemic has shown that China has always been a reliable and strong partner of Germany and the European Union. During the joint fight against the epidemic, China supplied or donated a large amount of urgently needed high-quality medical protective equipment to European partners to help them tide over the difficulties. Schumann expressed his expectation that there will be more successful cooperation experiences of this kind in the future, which will continue to enhance the friendship between the European and Chinese people.
Finally, Schumann emphasized that the German Federal Economic Development and Foreign Trade Association has high hopes for the implementation of the China-EU Investment Agreement, and believes that this is a milestone in the history of EU-China economic and trade cooperation. It is particularly worth mentioning that the agreement will create a more stable, open and transparent investment environment for investors, establish a new effective dispute resolution mechanism, and provide additional security for German companies’ commercial activities in China. The German side must make full use of this opportunity to further engage in constructive dialogue with China, an important partner of the European Union and Germany.
The German Federal Economic Development and Foreign Trade Association was established in 2003. It mainly serves German enterprises with foreign investment and trade needs. It has a wide range of influence and reputation in building a platform for government and enterprise exchanges and promoting enterprise investment and cooperation.
