On the afternoon of December 7th, German President Frank-Walter-Steinmeier paid a visit to Sichuan University during his trip to China. SCU President Yanrong Li met with the guests and attended related activities. German State Secretary Stefan Steinle, German Ambassador to China Dr. Clemens von Goetze, Chinese Ambassador to Germany Mingde Shi, Director of the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office Zhiwei Cui, Deputy Director Yechu Zhang, Counsellor of European Department Fanhua Zeng, Counsellor of Protocol Department Xiaohui Du, as well as SCU Vice President Shijing Yan, joined this event.
German President Frank-Walter-Steinmeier was warmly welcomed by the Chinese and German students
President Li welcomed the visit of H.E. President Frank-Walter-Steinmeier, and briefly introduced the situation of Sichuan University. He stressed that the modern higher education was originated from Humboldt University more than 200 years ago, which endowed the universities with the function of scientific research other than teaching, and yielded great influence on the universities in the world. In recent years, Sichuan University has strengthened cooperation with German universities and research institutions in student exchanges, sci-tech cooperation and joint education, especially with seven well-known German universities including H.E. President's alma mater--Giessen University, Aachen University of Technology, Krausta University of Technology, etc. In the past five years, nearly 400 German students were trained in SCU, and both sides jointly established the Sino-German Energy Research Center, the Water Resources Research Center, and the Sino-German International College, etc. “I believe that the visit of the President will help to gain a further insight into Germany and promote exchanges and cooperation between Sichuan University and German universities and research institutions, harvesting more fruits for the friendship between both countries”, President Li noted.
"Thank you for your warm welcome, President Li. I am very honored to give a lecture at Sichuan University, a very famous university with a long history. It's a bit nippy in Chengdu today, but I feel very warm thanks to the warm reception of Sichuan University," President Frank-Walter-Steinmeier said. " Before this visit, I learned about the long history of Sichuan University and the frequent exchanges between both sides in talent training and scientific research, especially about the good partnership established between SCU and some German universities including my alma mater. I hope that through this visit, we can promote the cooperation between Sichuan University and German universities and drive the development of Sino-German education and science and technology."
President Li presented a souvenir to H.E. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who signed his name on the book
After the meeting, H.E. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave speeches to more than 500 faculty and students and guests from all walks of life. President Li delivered a welcome speech, and Vice President Shijing Yan presided over the lecture.
When talking about Sichuan's development in recent years, H.E. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier pointes out that the Sichuan people have successfully overcome the disasters and rebuilt their homes, making amazing and admirable achievements again. This is his second visit to Sichuan after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. In the past ten years, the Sichuan people have shown extraordinary courage and perseverance in the post-disaster reconstruction. He also hopes more German people can come here and learn more about Sichuan and China.
"The future world is full of tension and uncertainty, so we must work together to create a better tomorrow," he said, emphasizing that digital technology is profoundly changing the human world. The future world is also full of unknowns and changes, so we must cooperate with each other and be brave enough to create a better life."
In the Q & A session, H.E. President answered issues raised by SCU students. He said that “there is still a huge space and potential for cultural exchanges between both countries. I hope that the two sides will increase cooperation and exchanges in tourism and working visits”. When talking about his tour to Sichuan, he was "very surprised" at the great progress made in urban infrastructure construction. More exciting was that more Chinese students showed strong desire to study in Germany, and more German students came to study in China.
"The Sino-German economy is deeply intertwined and dependent on each other." President Steinmeier said in his speech, stressing that China's 40-years reform and opening up has achieved rapid and admirable progress. During this period, the Sino-German relationship became closer and made fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation, culture, sci-tech and education cooperation. Today, China is Germany's largest trading partner in the world. Both countries see more frequent exchanges on education, culture, and science and technology. Chinese students have become the largest group of foreign students in Germany, whilst more and more German students are now studying in China, or in Sichuan University. He hopes that such personnel exchanges will bring the two countries closer in the future.
(This report was transferred and rearranged from SCU English Report.)
