CHINA-GERMANY
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Writing prior to German Chancellor Merkel's visit to China in June and later for the G-20 Summit this September, an assessment in Foreign Affairs issue of May 3, 2016, by Klaus Larres, the Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor of History and International Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently a Visiting Fellow at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin, (Germany’s leading think tank on security and international affairs) revealed that, based on 2013 figures, roughly 45 percent of the EU’s exports to China come from Germany and that Germany accounts for 28 percent of EU imports from China. There are also over 5,200 German companies registered in China and more than 900 Chinese firms registered in Germany. Germany also has a relatively more balanced trade relationship with China than the United States does and even registered a small surplus of 203 million euros as of February 2016. This close German-Chinese economic relationship has come with stronger political ties. During her ten years in office, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has travelled to China on eight official visits to China. Her ninth visit will take place in June, when she will also visit Hangzhou in Zhejiang, in September for the first China-hosted G-20 summit. He added that unlike some other powers Merkel had not hesitated to raise the contentious issues of Human Rights with Chinese leaders, though politely and behind closed doors.
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