Prof. Dr. Claudia Warning, the Director-General for the Middle East; Asia; Latin America; South-Eastern and Eastern Europe at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) visited Beijing end of January. Her stay provided the opportunity to discuss the progress and challenges of the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) with key partners from China.
In a meeting with Ms. Liang Hong, the Deputy Director General for International Trade and Economic Affairs Department at the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MofCom), the CSD was acknowledged as important platform and mechanism for dialogue and joint projects on sustainable development. Looking back at one and a half years of CSD operations a need was identified to involve additional actors and broaden the partner network in the operations of the CSD.
Prof. Dr. Warning was the first BMZ representative to formally meet representatives from the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) which was established in April 2018. Mr. Tian Lin, CIDCA’s Director General for International Cooperation, received the German delegation. Both sides expressed interest in entering into a policy dialogue and exploring trilateral cooperation opportunities using the framework of the CSD.
In a meeting with Mr. Tang Shengyao, the Deputy Director General for International Cooperation in the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), intensified trilateral cooperation with partner countries especially in Africa was discussed. Through joint scoping of mutual interest and priorities, MARA sees the great potential of embarking on concrete projects and joint efforts with Germany to help Africa to combat hunger and achieve food security. The FAO-China South-South Cooperation Trust Fund could be a useful tool to bring in Chinese financial and technical contributions into cooperation projects.
As the Chinese implementing partner of the CSD, the Trade Development Bureau (TDB) under MofCom utilises its particular strengths for the CSD which are close links and solid partnerships with Chinese enterprises. Mr. Wu Zhengping, the Director General of TDB, suggested that capacity development on trade promotion for developing countries could be another entry point for joint action and possibly trilateral cooperation under the CSD. TDB’s international exhibitions worldwide could be a good link to joint Sino-German-African or Sino-German-Asian trainings and further capacity development measures.
During the week, Prof. Dr. Warning also visited the CSD’s office in the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and got a guided tour through the University Museum.
