On July 6th 2018, the launch event for Annual Development Report of Germany (2018) and The Symposium on “the Domestic Situations and Foreign Relations of Merkel Administration 4.0 and Its Implications for China-Germany Relations” were held in the lecture hall of the German library of Tongji University. Opening addresses were made by Mr. WU Zhiqiang, vice president of Tongji University, and Mr. YANG Qun, editor-in-chief of Social Sciences Academic Press (China). Prof. ZHENG Chunrong, director of the Center for German Studies of Tongji University, made a brief introduction on the analytical framework and key points of the Annual Development Report of Germany (2018). His introduction was followed by a keynote speech of “New Trends of Current China-Germany and China-Europe Relations” presented by Mr. MEI Zhaorong, former Chinese Ambassador to Germany and Advisor of the Shanghai Institute for European Studies. In the afternoon, a symposium was held on the theme of “Domestic Situations and Foreign Relations of Merkel Administration 4.0 and Its Implications for China-Germany Relations”. In-depth discussions were made on a series of hotspot topics, such as China-Germany and China-Europe relations, Germany-U.S. relations, and EU reforms, by more than 50 scholars from well-known think tanks and universities, such as Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Chinese Association for European Studies, the Central Party School, Fudan University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Tongji University, and China Foreign Affairs University. Several leaders and trustees of the Shanghai Institute for European Studies also took part in this launch event and symposium.
