On December 1st, 2023, Matthias Giegerich, the Director General of the Department for Asia, Pacific Islands, Latin America, Caribbean of GIZ, welcomed a delegation from the Global Development Promotion Center (GDPC) of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) and the Chinese Consulate General in Frankfurt at the GIZ headquarters in Eschborn, Germany.
The two parties had an extensive exchange on topics including the Global Development Initiative and its relationship with the 2030 Agenda, similarities and differences between Chinese and German international development cooperation approaches, and cooperation potentials between GIZ and GDPC.
“GIZ has cooperated with China for over 40 years on international development cooperation”, Mr. Giegerich highlighted when introducing GIZ. It facilitates dialogue, exchange, and cooperation between the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Chinese development cooperation stakeholders especially through the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development (CSD).
GDPC underlined the importance it attaches to cooperation between countries like China and Germany on development issues on a global level, to reach the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “China especially contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through the Global Development Initiative, which focuses on eight priority areas”, according to Ms. Tang Ying, the Director-General of GDPC.
The work structure and responsibilities of GDPC, and the model of the GDI Project and Funding Pools were presented to GIZ. The two sides explored opportunities for cooperation in the following discussions in more detail especially in the areas of climate change response, technical exchanges on international development cooperation, and capacity development for partner countries.
In June 2023, the BMZ and CIDCA signed a three-year Joint Action Plan on strengthening international development cooperation. The Sino-German Center implements the Joint Action Plan on behalf of BMZ.
Affiliated to CIDCA, the GDPC was established in 2022 and is responsible for providing the platform that promotes ideas, encourages innovations, pools resources, and facilitate actions for international development cooperation, and the implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI).
Germany is not a member of GDI, but monitors the work of the GDI and how it relates to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with other European and international partners. The German Federal Government is open to issue-specific cooperation with China for the purpose of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to the Strategy on China of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany published in July 2023.
