Source: Xinhua News Agency & official public materials from the China‑Germany Forum
Against the backdrop of profound restructuring in the global economy, accelerated technological and industrial iteration, and mounting uncertainties in international trade, China and Germany — two pivotal Eurasian economic partners — have reaffirmed their consensus for cooperation. On August 29, the Table Tennis German Cup & China‑Germany Economic Forum was held in Nuremberg, a major German industrial hub. Co‑hosted by the Chinese Consulate‑General in Frankfurt, the German Table Tennis Bundesliga and the German Academy of World‑Market Leaders, the event pioneered a dual‑track model integrating sports‑cultural exchanges and high‑level economic dialogue. Gathering key representatives from Germany’s political, business, academic and sports circles, the forum explored new opportunities, horizons and pathways for China‑Germany practical cooperation, injecting strong confidence into bilateral ties.
Distinct from conventional government‑business forums, this event leveraged table tennis — a time‑honored symbol of China‑Germany people‑to‑people friendship — to break down sectoral and institutional barriers. It infused human‑centric warmth into in‑depth economic engagement, setting a benchmark for innovative integration of people‑to‑people diplomacy and industrial collaboration in the new era. Participants reached a shared conclusion: competition is not the dominant trend, while cooperation represents the general direction. Supported by natural advantages in technological complementarity, industrial‑chain compatibility and market connectivity, China‑Germany economic and trade cooperation still holds tremendous untapped potential.
Mutual Trust as Foundation: Forging Confidence for China‑Germany Partnerships
Cooperation is built on trust, and long‑term win‑win outcomes stem from sustained dedication. In his keynote address, Huang Yiyang, Chinese Consul‑General in Frankfurt, highlighted the central role of mutual trust in China‑Germany economic ties. Cross‑border business cooperation is never a short‑term undertaking; trust and confidence are core pillars for nurturing bilateral partnerships.
Decades of mutually beneficial China‑Germany cooperation have proven that only through regular communication, tangible joint projects, and open engagement with both opportunities and challenges can bilateral trust be continuously consolidated and strengthened. Two‑way interactions not only affirm past achievements but also cast a solid “vote of confidence” for all‑round future China‑Germany cooperation, removing perceptual barriers for cross‑border corporate collaboration, technology sharing and market access.
Broad Consensus: China as a Core Partner for Germany’s Innovation‑driven Development
Germany is undergoing critical industrial transformation and competitiveness rebuilding. How to resolve internal structural bottlenecks and capture dividends from global technological change has become a top priority for German government, business and academic communities. At the forum, multiple prominent German figures moved beyond narrow competitive mindsets, offering objective assessments of China‑Germany ties and underlining the necessity of practical cooperation with China.
Marcel Fratzscher, President of the German Institute for Economic Research, noted from a macro‑economic perspective that Germany’s primary task to boost global industrial competitiveness is to address domestic structural challenges and upgrade its domestic industrial ecosystem. In terms of global expansion and innovation, China remains a stable, vital and irreplaceable strategic economic and trade partner for Germany, and pragmatic engagement with China underpins Germany’s industrial stability.
Rudolf Scharping, former German Minister of Defence, who has deep experience in international politics and industrial cooperation, spoke highly of China’s global innovation standing. He pointed out that with improved R&D systems, advancing industrial design capabilities and growing output of frontier technological breakthroughs, China has evolved into a global hub for research and development, design and technological innovation. For Germany, the path forward lies in open international cooperation. Deepening all‑round collaboration with China is a key choice for Germany to seize technological opportunities and achieve industrial upgrading.
Walter Döring, Founder and President of the German Academy of World‑Market Leaders, offered a balanced perspective on competition and cooperation between China and Germany. He argued that healthy, orderly bilateral competition acts as a catalyst for industrial upgrading. Rivalry in technology, products and services pushes both sides to iterate and remedy weaknesses, ultimately delivering mutual empowerment and shared progress.
Market realities back this viewpoint. In recent years, a large number of German hidden‑champion and leading manufacturing enterprises have conducted on‑site research and market surveys in China, matched local industrial demands and market resources, and delivered high‑quality, sustainable cooperation projects. The trend of industrial integration between China and Germany is becoming increasingly evident.
Industrial Focus: Automotive Sector Moves Beyond Zero‑sum Games for Complementary Advantages
As a pillar of China‑Germany cooperation, automotive‑sector collaboration stood as a core topic of the forum, epitomizing win‑win outcomes between the two economies amid real‑world complementarities. Driven by global new‑energy and intelligent‑mobility transitions, the automotive landscape between China and Germany is reshaping. The relationship has shifted from one‑sided learning toward two‑way empowerment and collaborative innovation.
Florian Huettl, CEO of Opel and Managing Director of Stellantis Germany, addressed widespread industry misconceptions and advocated a new cooperative mindset. He emphasized that the global automotive industry has entered an era of deep integration. German automakers must abandon zero‑sum, purely competitive thinking and should not view Chinese automotive firms merely as rivals.
Chinese carmakers have built solid strengths in new‑energy technologies, intelligent cockpit development, rapid market iteration and flexible supply‑chain adaptation. German automakers boast long‑standing expertise in high‑end manufacturing, vehicle craftsmanship, chassis technologies and global regulatory compliance. The two sides enjoy strong complementarities. Going forward, German manufacturers should actively build bilateral partnerships to achieve complementary strengths through technology exchange, supply‑chain sharing and joint market development, for mutual benefit in global automotive markets.
Sports as a Bond: Cultural Ties Unlock New Opportunities for China‑Germany Cooperation
Sports serve as a universal language and a flexible bond to bring people closer and build consensus for cooperation. Nico Strotmann, Managing Director of the German Table Tennis Bundesliga, elaborated on the unique value of sports diplomacy through the integrated tournament‑and‑forum format.
He stated that table tennis is a special emotional bond linking China and Germany across decades of friendship, bridging cultural differences and earning deep public support. By combining the Table Tennis German Cup with an economic forum, the event successfully converted sports engagement into economic opportunities and people‑to‑people friendship into industrial prospects. The Bundesliga will continue to leverage its tournament IP to maintain regular exchange platforms, deepen bilateral people‑to‑people interactions, and create more opportunities for government, business and industrial cooperation between China and Germany.
Conclusion
Against a challenging global economic backdrop, the Nuremberg forum sends a strong positive signal for China‑Germany relations. Consensus among political and academic circles, practical corporate‑level progress, and cultural empowerment through sports all confirm that China‑Germany cooperation delivers benefits to both sides and the wider world.
Amid a new‑round technological and industrial revolution, China and Germany, as global powerhouses in manufacturing and innovation, stand to gain by rejecting confrontation and embracing cooperation, upholding mutual trust and pursuing win‑win outcomes. This is not only a natural choice for national development, but also crucial for stabilizing global industrial and supply chains and driving world‑economic recovery. With growing cultural‑sports exchanges and deepening cooperation in key industries such as automobiles, all‑round practical China‑Germany cooperation is set to embrace even broader prospects.