At the invitation of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), Mr. Olaf Scholz, Vice Chairman of the German Social Democratic Party(SPD) and Mayor of Hamburg, visited China from 13 to 17 November. During his stay in Beijing, Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, Mr. Wang Jiarui, Minister in charge of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC), and Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying met with Mr. Scholz. The two sides exchanged views on China-German relations, exchanges between the CPC and the SPD, trade and investment cooperation between Shanghai and Hamburg and European sovereign debt crisis. Mr. Scholz said that Hamburg is ready to play its role as a bridgehead in greater exchanges and cooperation between Germany and China. Mr. Scholz said he was confident that Europe was capable of stepping out of the debt crisis by its own, but needed to get its homework done.