German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a visit to Shenzhen during a visit to China on Thursday and Friday.
Merkel was invited by Premier Li Keqiang. It will be her first trip to China after re-election and the 11th as the German chancellor.
Merkel said in a podcast published Saturday that Germany wants to strengthen multilateralism with China and she is looking forward to the visit.
She said as Germany and China have agreed on regular political dialogue and intergovernmental consultations, she comes to China to conduct these talks once a year on average.
Germany and China have carried out very close cooperation within the G20, Merkel said, adding that during her upcoming visit the two sides will talk about bilateral relations, rule of law, China’s development, economy and other international affairs.
“We want to strengthen multilateralism. And that will play a role in our discussion,” said Merkel. “I am glad that I’m going to Shenzhen this time as well. I have regularly visited provinces in China, not just the capital. I am again and again aware of the dynamics and the extent to which China is developing.”
The German chancellor said she was very interested in visiting Shenzhen, where China’s opening up began and where there are many German firms.
The rise of Shenzhen epitomizes the country’s emergence from being economically underdeveloped four decades ago into the world’s second-largest economy through its opening up.
Since its designation as China’s first Special Economic Zone in 1980, Shenzhen has transformed from a grubby borderland town to a modern metropolis, with clean streets, skyscrapers and a thriving tech industry to rival Silicon Valley.
In 40 years, Shenzhen’s population has ballooned from 30,000 to 12 million, government data showed. Its annual GDP gains have averaged nearly 10 percent since 2010 and reached 2.2 trillion yuan (US$350 billion) in 2017, ranking 3rd in China. It boasted the country’s highest per capita GDP of US$27,000 last year.
Today, Shenzhen is leading the way in economic transition and has been developed into the country’s innovation capital. It has cultivated high-tech giants like Tencent, Huawei and one of the world’s largest drone makers, DJI.
Shenzhen has attracted a huge number of European and American enterprises to operate in the city. Currently over 130 German enterprises have set up branch offices in the city, and the total investment amount reaches up to US$260 million, according to the official website of Invest Shenzhen, the organization assigned by the municipal government with the task of attracting investment. Meanwhile, local firms like Huawei, ZTE and BGI have also set up their regional headquarters or R&D institutions in Europe.
(SD-Xinhua)
