The First Meeting of the Second China-Germany Dialogue Forum was held in Beijing on 15 July. Over 30 Members from the political, economic, cultural and media fields had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on two subjects-- “Develop jointly new energy and low-carbon economy”, “How do the Chinese and German see each other?” and“What is the role of the media in China-German relations?” Members of the two sides put forward a number of suggestions on ways to faciletate the steady growth of Sino-German relations. Prof. Xu Kuangdi and Prof. Bruno O. Braun co-chaired the Meeting.

       Prof. Xu Kuangdi pointed out that China-German relations was faced with a new opportunity for development as the international situation underwent profound and complex changes. The China-Germany Dialogue Forum was a non-governmental and high level forum designed to draw the wisdom of the elites of both sides and put forward suggestions to the two Governments on ways to expand bilateral cooperation in various fields. Members of the two sides should make full use of the platform, exchange views in a candid and in-depth fashion and work together to deepen long-term cooperation between the two countries. Prof. Braun said, with China’s rapid growth and growing international influence, people in Germany were watching China more closely. There were broad prospects for Germany-China cooperation. Germany was ready to work closely with China to deepen relations between Germany and China.

       The China-Germany Dialogue Forum was set up in 2005 on the initiative of the Prime Ministers of the two countries. Five meetings were held under the First Dialogue Forum from 2005 to 2009.