Alumni & and partners' meeting on scientific cooperation in times of geopolitical competition

FES Beijing and FES Shanghai together organized an alumni & and partners' meeting on scientific cooperation in times of geopolitical competition in Chongqing. FES scholarship holders, alumni and partners from Beijing, Shanghai as well as from Sichuan were invited.

Over the course of the two-day conference, the participants agreed that, despite the geopolitical competition and difficult framework conditions, it is in the interests of Germany and China to continue to foster cooperation in science and technology.

There was also a consensus that more student exchange in both directions is a desirable investment in the future. However, a balanced distribution across different fields of study was advocated.

Above all, however, a crisis of confidence was also identified as a major challenge.
In addition to the honest admission of “systemic differences”, measures to create more transparency were promoted in order to regain trust.

Possible pilot projects as small success stories for more transparency and more mutual trust were also considered aloud.

Among the speakers, commentators and moderators on the Chinese side were outstanding experts and FES alumni from Beijing and Shanghai, as well as representatives of various long-term partners of FES in Sichuan including the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SIFA). The German speakers and commentators included: Julian Lasinger, Germany’s deputy consul general for Southwest China, Corine Abele, Chief Representative of the German Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment (GTAI) in Shanghai, and others.