China–Germany relations

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China-German relations
Map indicating locations of China and Germany

China
Germany

China–German relations were formally established in 1861, when Prussia and the Qing dynasty concluded a Sino-German treaty during the Eulenburg expedition. A decade later, the German Empire was established, with the new state inheriting the Prussian-era treaties concluded with China. Sino-German relations during the late 19th and early 20th century were frequently tense, as Germany followed the example of other European colonial powers in carving out a sphere of influence in China; by 1914, Germany had obtained several concessions in China, including the treaty ports of Yantai and Qingdao and most prominently the Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory.

Germany was a member of the

allied himself with Japan. During the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided in two states: a liberal and democratic West Germany and a communist East Germany. Cold War tensions led to a West German alliance with the United States against communism and thus allied against the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Eastern part was allied through the Soviet Union with the PRC. After German reunification
, relations between Germany and China improved.

History

Early contacts

Although the German composer J.S. Bach never visited China in his lifetime, his statue now welcomes visitors entering Shanghai from the city's main railway station.
In The Chinese Room of the Royal Palace, Berlin, considerable effort was invested in creating Chinese decorations and furnishings (19th Century depiction by Eduard Gaertner).

Unlike

Qing leaders. Meanwhile, in Rome another German Jesuit, Athanasius Kircher
, who never got to go to China himself, used reports of other Jesuits in China to compile China Illustrata, a work that was instrumental in popularizing knowledge about China among the 17th-century European readers.

The earliest Sino-German trade occurred overland through

Royal Prussian Asian Trading Company of Emden in the 1750s. In 1861, after China's defeat in the Second Opium War, the Treaty of Tientsin was signed, which opened formal commercial relations between various European states, including Prussia, with China.[1]

Early diplomatic relations

In 1859, following China's defeat in the

German Customs Union. Prussia would later on become the dominant and leading part of the newly founded German Empire. The treaty would govern Sino-German relations until World War I, when the Republic of China
repudiated the treaty unilaterally.

During the late 19th century, Sino-foreign trade was dominated by the British Empire, and Otto von Bismarck was eager to establish German footholds in China to balance the British dominance. In 1885, Bismarck had the Reichstag pass a steamship subsidy bill which offered direct service to China. In the same year, he sent the first German banking and industrial survey group to evaluate investment possibilities, which led to the establishment of the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank in 1890. Through these efforts, Germany was second to Britain in trading and shipping in China by 1896.

Due to the decisiveness of steam-powered fleets over the junks of the small Imperial Chinese Navy during China's conflicts with European powers in the mid-nineteenth century, the Chinese began a naval construction program in the 1880s to meet these threats more effectively. They enlisted British and German assistance, and two Dingyuan-class ironclads were ordered from Germany, the Dingyuan and the Zhenyuan.[2][3]

In 1897, the

Boxer Uprising
. China paid a large annual indemnity.

In 1907–1908, Kaiser Wilhelm II send Prince of Bülow, Chancellor at the time, talk about potential treaty of triple alliance with Qing high-ranking official Yuan and President Theodore Roosevelt.[5] But overturned in favor for Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 and passing of Grand Empress Dowager, Cixi.

During the

Xinhai revolution, revolutionaries killed a German arms dealer in Hankou as he was delivering arms to the Qing.[6] Revolutionaries killed 2 Germans and wounded 2 other Germans at the battle of Hanyang, including a former colonel.[7]

Early twentieth century

Main articles:
China–Germany relations (1912-1949)
German diplomats
as head of the state of Japanese puppet China

The German military had a major role in Republican China.[8] The German Navy's East Asia Squadron was in charge of Germany's concessions at Qingdao, and spent heavily to set up modern facilities that would be a showcase for Asia. Japan seized the German operations in 1914 after sharp battles. After World War I, the Weimar Republic provided extensive advisory services to the under Japan rule Republic of China, especially training for the Japanese led Chinese army.

As well as studying and visiting Japan, Germans visited and studied China in between the two wars,

Colonel General

H.H. Kung visited Germany in an attempt "to convince Hitler to side with China against Japan".[10][11] With assurances of the contrary Nazi Germany sided with the Japanese after they invaded China the following month and the last important German advisor left in 1938.[12][13]

However, at the same time, the exiled German Communist

Comintern agent, probably sent in 1934, but most probably a double agent, to advise the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on military strategy and taking a major part in The Long March under a Chinese name, Li De (Chinese: 李德; pinyin: Lǐ Dé); it was only many years later that Otto Braun and "Li De" came to be known as the same person.[14]

World War II (1941–1945)

Main articles:
German-Japanese relations § Rapprochement, Axis and World War II (1920–1945); and Persecution of Chinese people in Nazi Germany

Sino-German cooperation collapsed in 1939 due to the start of World War II in Europe, forcing many Chinese nationals to leave Germany due to increased government surveillance and coercion. The example Japan set in the Second Sino-Japanese War forced Hitler to replace China with Japan as the Nazi's strategic ally in East Asia.[15] Following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Chinese declared war on Germany, which resulted in the Gestapo launching mass arrests of Chinese nationals across Germany. At the end of the war, the Chinese communities in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen that existed before the war were destroyed.[citation needed]

Division of Germany and the Cold War (1945-1990)

China's Dong Biwu (second from the right) with Otto Grotewohl (third from the right) and Walter Ulbricht (fourth from the right) in East-Berlin (1958)
Main article: Cold War

The

One-China policy, in hopes of finding Chinese backing of the reunification of Germany. In October 1972, West Germany officially established diplomatic contacts with the PRC, although unofficial contacts had been in existence since 1964.[16][17][18]

The

honor guard. The visit became the first official visit by an Eastern Bloc leader to the PRC.[21][22]

Reunified Germany (1990-present)

Early post-communism in united Germany

The frequent high-level diplomatic visits are acknowledged to have helped guarantee the smooth development of Sino-German relations. From 1993 to 1998, German and Chinese leaders met face-to-face 52 times: Among those Chinese leaders who visited Germany were Jiang Zemin, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party; Qiao Shi, former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC); and Li Peng, former Premier of China and Chairman of the NPC Standing. Meanwhile, German leaders who visited China included President Roman Herzog, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office Ludger Volmer. Among these leaders, Chancellor Kohl visited China twice in 1993 and 1995. Since the new German government came into power in October 1998, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has paid three visits to China. One after another from Germany came Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping, and Minister of Economics and Technology Werner Müller. At the same time, Germany welcomed Chinese Primer Zhu Rongji, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, State Councilor Wu Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee Wei Jianxing as well as member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee Hu Jintao.

After 2000

Relations would continue to improve even more after 1998. For instance,

2011 Libyan civil war
that had been made after the liberation of the accused Libean medical sisters and doctors, that were accused of crimes against children there, and liberated by the French President.

Huawei, a major Chinese tech company, has collaborated with Porsche Design, a German design company in developing their Porsche Design Huawei Smartwatch GT 2 [23][24]

Before the 2011 visit of China's PM Wen Jiabao, the Chinese government issued a "White Book on the accomplishments and perspective of Sino-German cooperation", the first of its kind for a European country. The visit also marked the first Sino-German government consultations, an exclusive mechanism for Sino-German communications.

In 2018, Mercedes-Benz apologized to China for quoting the Dalai Lama on Instagram.[25]

In July 2019, the UN ambassadors from 22 nations, including Germany, signed a joint letter to the UNHRC condemning China's mistreatment of the

government to close the Xinjiang internment camps.[26][27]

In September 2019, China's ambassador to Germany stated that the meeting between Germany's foreign minister and Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong will damage relations with China.[28]

2020-present

On 22 April 2020, Germany's

Interior Ministry released a letter revealing that Chinese diplomats had contacted German Government officials "to encourage them" "to make positive statements on how China was handling the coronavirus pandemic". The German government did not comply with these requests. [29]

In June 2020, Germany opposed the Hong Kong national security law.[30]

On 6 October 2020, Germany's ambassador to the UN, on behalf of the group of 39 countries including Germany, the U.K. and the U.S., made a statement to denounce China for its treatment of ethnic minorities and for curtailing freedoms in Hong Kong.[31]

In December 2020, with Germany ending its two-year term on the

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor detained in China.[32]

In October 2021, a tweet from the Global Times called for a “final solution to the Taiwan question” which was condemned by German politician Frank Müller-Rosentritt for its similarity to the “final solution to the Jewish question” which resulted in the Holocaust.[33]

In December 2021, as a result of a diplomatic spat between

Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie described the expansion of the ban on importing Lithuanian goods to components in integrated supply chains as a “devastating own goal.”[36] The German government approved a quarter ownership for China shipper, COSCO, in the Hamburg container terminal port in May 2023.[37]

In September 2023, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock named Xi Jinping a dictator next to Vladimir Putin.[38] In April 2024, German authorities arrested three German nationals for spying for China and arranging illicit military technology transfers.[39][40] The same month, authorities arrested a suspected spy working for Maximilian Krah.[41]

Trade

Chinese markets are important for

German industry, particularly the German automotive industry.[42]: 24  Germany is China's biggest trading partner and technology exporter in Europe.[43]

The trade volume between China and Germany surpassed 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.[44]

By 2014

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had visited China on trade missions seven times since assuming office in 2005, underlining the importance of China to the German economy.[45]

China is Germany's largest trading partner, superseding the United States since 2017.

Resident diplomatic missions
  • Embassy of China in Berlin
    Embassy of China in Berlin
  • Consulate-General of China in Munich
    Consulate-General of China in Munich
  • Consulate-General of Germany in Shanghai
    Consulate-General of Germany in Shanghai

See also

References

  1. ^ Joanne Miyang Cho, and David M. Crowe, eds. Germany and China: Transnational Encounters since the Eighteenth Century (2014) online review Archived 2022-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Wright, pp. 41–49.
  3. ^ Gardiner, p. 395.
  4. ^ Thomas W. Burkman, Japan and the League of Nations: Empire and world order, 1914–1938 (U of Hawaii Press, 2007). p 4.
  5. S2CID 143600941. Archived
    from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  6. ^ Thomson, John Stuart (1913). China Revolutionized. Bobbs-Merrill Company. p. 59. Archived from the original on 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  7. ^ Thomson, John Stuart (1913). China Revolutionized. Bobbs-Merrill Company. p. 54. Archived from the original on 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  8. ^ William C. Kirby, Germany and Republican China (Stanford UP, 1984).
  9. ^ Hsi‐Huey Liang, "China, the Sino‐Japanese conflict and the Munich crisis." Diplomacy & Statecraft 10.2-3 (1999): 342-369.
  10. ^ kung with hitler [permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Kung and chinese kuomintang with adolf hitler [permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Odd Arne Westad, Restless Empire: China in the world since 1750 (2012) pp. 133–135.
  13. ^ Robyn L. Rodriguez, "Journey to the East: The German Military Mission in China, 1927-1938" (PhD Diss. The Ohio State University, 2011) online Archived 2024-04-23 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ISBN 9780804711388. Archived
    from the original on 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  15. ^ Wheeler-Bennet 1939, p. 8.
  16. ^ "Kooperation im Wandel: 30 Jahre diplomatische Beziehungen Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Volksrepublik China". Archived from the original on 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  17. ^ Alexander Troche: Berlin wird am Mekong verteidigt. Die Ostasienpolitik der Bundesrepublik in China, Taiwan und Süd-Vietnam 1954–1966. Düsseldorf 2001, S. 86.
  18. ^ Gunter Schubert: Gunter Schubert - The European Dimension of German-Taiwanese Relations. Vortrag auf der Konferenz «The Role of France and Germany in Sino-European Relations» in Hongkong Juli / August 2001 PDF Archived 2019-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Beyond Moscow: East German-Chinese Relations during the Cold War | Wilson Center". Archived from the original on 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  20. ^ Markham, James M. (3 September 1986). "East Germany Steps up Contacts with China". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Honecker visits China". Archived from the original on 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  22. ^ "East German leader can expect a warm welcome in Peking. Visit could show where Sino-Soviet ties headed - CSMonitor.com". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  23. ^ "Porsche Design Huawei Smartwatch GT 2". Porsche Shop. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  24. ^ "Porsche Design Huawei Smartwatch GT 2". Porsche Design. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  25. ^ "Mercedes apologises to China after quoting Dalai Lama". The Daily Telegraph. 7 February 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  26. ^ "Which Countries Are For or Against China's Xinjiang Policies?". The Diplomat. 15 July 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  27. ^ "More than 20 ambassadors condemn China's treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang | Xinjiang | The Guardian". The Guardian. 11 July 2019. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  28. ^ "China envoy raps Germany over meeting with Hong Kong activist". Reuters. 2019-09-11. Archived from the original on 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  29. ^ "Germany says China sought to encourage positive COVID-19 comments". Reuters. 27 April 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  30. ^ Lawler, Dave (2 July 2020). "The 53 countries supporting China's crackdown on Hong Kong". Axios. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  31. ^ Wainer, David (6 October 2020). "Western Allies Rebuke China at UN Over Xinjiang, Hong Kong". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  32. ^ Nichols, Michelle (23 December 2020). "'Good riddance,' China says as Germany leaves U.N. Security Council". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  33. ^ Haime, Jordyn (21 October 2021). "Chinese state-run site proposes 'final solution to the Taiwan question'". www.jpost.com. The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  34. ^ Sytas, Andrius; O'Donnell, John (17 December 2021). "China pressures Germany's Continental to cut out Lithuania - sources". reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  35. ^ FUKAO, KOSEI. "China said to arm-twist Continental on Lithuania business". asia.nikkei.com. Nikkei. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  36. ^ Miller, Joe; Chazan, Guy; Bounds, Andy (17 December 2021). "German business hits out at China after Lithuania trade row snares exports". Financial Times. The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  37. ^ Arthur Sullivan. (11 May 2023). "Germany inks deal with China's COSCO on Hamburg port". DW website Archived 2023-05-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  38. POLITICO. 2023-09-16. Archived
    from the original on 2023-09-17. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  39. ^ "3 Germans arrested on suspicion of spying for China, transferring info on potential military tech". Associated Press. 2024-04-22. Archived from the original on 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  40. ^ "Germany spying: Three suspected Chinese agents arrested". BBC News. 2024-04-22. Archived from the original on 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  41. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  42. ISBN 978-1-350-25231-8
    .
  43. ^ Geitner, Paul (22 April 2012). "China, Amid Uncertainty at Home and in Europe, Looks to Germany". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  44. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110520073658/http://english.gov.cn/chinatoday/2008-11/11/content_1145752.htm
  45. ^ "Angela Merkel sets off for China to forge new economic ties". Herald Globe. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  46. ^ "Embassy of China in Berlin". Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  47. ^ "Embassy of Germany in Beijing". Archived from the original on 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-07-15.

Further reading

Library resources about
China–Germany relations
  • Wright, Richard N.J. (2000). The Chinese Steam Navy. London: Chatham Publishing.
    ISBN 978-1-86176-144-6
    .
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5
    .
  • Albers, Martin. "Business with Beijing, détente with Moscow: West Germany's China policy in a global context, 1969–1982." Cold War History 14.2 (2014): 237–257.
  • Bernier, Lucie. "Christianity and the Other: Friedrich Schlegel's and F.W.J. Schelling's Interpretation of China." International Journal of Asian Studies 2.2 (2005): 265–273.
  • Chen, Zhong Zhong. "Defying Moscow: East German-Chinese relations during the Andropov-Chernenko interregnum, 1982–1985." Cold War History 14.2 (2014): 259–280.
  • Cho, Joanne Miyang, and David M. Crowe, eds. Germany and China: Transnational Encounters since the Eighteenth Century (2014) online review
  • Depner, Heiner, and Harald Bathelt. "Exporting the German model: the establishment of a new automobile industry cluster in Shanghai." Economic Geography 81.1 (2005): 53-81 online.
  • Dijk, Kees van. Pacific Strife: The Great Powers and their Political and Economic Rivalries in Asia and the Western Pacific 1870-1914 (2015)
  • Eberspaecher, Cord. "Arming the Beiyang Navy. Sino-German Naval Cooperation." International Journal of Naval History (2009) online.
  • Fox, John P. "Max Bauer: Chiang Kai-shek's first German military adviser." Journal of Contemporary History 5.4 (1970): 21–44.
  • Fox, John P. Germany and the Far Eastern Crisis, 1931-1938 (Clarendon Press, 1982)
  • Gareis, Sven Bernhard. “Germany and China – A Close Partnership with Contradictions.” in Germany’s New Partners: Bilateral Relations of Europe’s Reluctant Leader, edited by Sven Bernhard Gareis and Matthew Rhodes, 1st ed. (Berlin: Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2019), pp. 87–108 online
  • Garver, John W. "China, German Reunification, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence." Journal of East Asian Affairs 8.1 (1994): 135–172. online
  • Groeneveld, Sabina. "Far away at Home in Qingdao (1897–1914)." German Studies Review 39.1 (2016): 65-79 online.
  • Hall, Luella J. "The Abortive German-American-Chinese Entente of 1907-8." Journal of Modern History1#2 1929, pp. 219–235. online
  • Heiduk, Felix. "Conflicting images? Germany and the rise of China." German Politics 23.1-2 (2014): 118-133 online.
  • Jenkins, Jennifer L., et al. "Asia, Germany and the Transnational Turn." German History 28#4 (2010): 515–536.
  • Jones, Francis I. W. "The German challenge to British shipping 1885–1914: its magnitude, nature and impact in China." Mariner's Mirror 76.2 (1990): 151–167.
  • Klein, Thoralf. "Biography and the making of transnational imperialism: Karl Gützlaff on the China coast, 1831–1851." Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 47.3 (2019): 415-445 online.
  • Kranzler, David. "Restrictions against German-Jewish Refugee Immigration to Shanghai in 1939." Jewish Social Studies 36.1 (1974): 40–60. online
  • Kirby, William C. Germany and Republican China (Stanford UP, 1984).
  • Kundnani, Hans, and Jonas Parello-Plesner. "China and Germany: why the emerging special relationship matters for Europe." European Council on Foreign Relations (2012) online.
  • Lach, Donald F. “Leibniz and China.” Journal of the History of Ideas 6#4 (1945), pp. 436–455. online
  • Lü, Yixu. "German Colonial Fiction on China: The Boxer Uprising of 1900." German Life and Letters 59.1 (2006): 78–100.
  • Lü, Yixu. "Germany's war in China: media coverage and political myth." German Life and Letters 61.2 (2008): 202–214. On Boxer uprising.
  • Mak, Ricardo K, S. et al. eds/ Sino-German Relations since 1800: Multidisciplinary Explorations (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2000)
  • Martin, Bernd. Japan and Germany in the modern world (Berghahn books, 2006).
  • Martin, Bernd. "The Prussian expedition to the Far East (1860–1862)." Journal of the Siam Society 78.1 (1990): 35–42. online
  • Möller, Kay. "Germany and China: a continental temptation." China Quarterly 147 (1996): 706–725, covers 1960 to 1995.
  • Port, Andrew I. "Courting China, Condemning China: East and West German Cold War Diplomacy in the Shadow of the Cambodian Genocide." German History 33.4 (2015): 588-608 online[dead link].
  • Rodriguez, Robyn L. "Journey to the East: The German Military Mission in China, 1927-1938" (PhD Diss. The Ohio State University, 2011) online.
  • Schäfer, Bernd. "Weathering the Sino-Soviet Conflict: The GDR and North Korea, 1949-1989." Cold War International History Project Bulletin 14.15 (2003): 2004.
  • Schrecker, John E. Imperialism and Chinese Nationalism: Germany in Shantung (Harvard UP, 1971). online review
  • Shen, Qinna. "Tiananmen Square, Leipzig, and the" Chinese Solution": Revisiting the Wende from an Asian-German Perspective." German Studies Review 42.1 (2019): 37-56 online.
  • Skřivan, Aleš, and Aleš Skřivan. "Financial Battle for Beijing: The Great Powers and Loans to China, 1895–1898." Historian 79.3 (2017): 476–503.
  • Slobodian, Quinn. "The Maoist Enemy: China’s Challenge in 1960s East Germany." Journal of Contemporary History 51.3 (2016): 635-659 online[dead link].
  • Smith, Julianne, and Torrey Taussig. "The Old World and the Middle Kingdom: Europe Wakes up to China's Rise." Foreign Affairs. 98 (2019): 112+ How Angela Merkel et al. looked at China. online
  • Sutton, Donald S. “German Advice and Residual Warlordism in the Nanking Decade: Influences on Nationalist Military Training and Strategy,” China Quarterly, No. 91. (September, 1982) 386–420.
  • Walsh, Billie K. "The German military mission in China, 1928-38." Journal of Modern History 46.3 (1974): 502-513 online.
  • Weinberg, Gerhard L. "German Recognition Of Manchoukuo" World Affairs Quarterly (1957) 28#2 pp 149–164.
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