On the morning of April 27, Hildegard Müller, President of the Verband Deutscher Automobilindustrie (VDA), led a delegation to visit Peking University. He Guangcai, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chair of the University Council of Peking University, met with the guests at Linhu Xuan, while Gu Tao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Chair of the University Council, accompanied the meeting. Later, invited by the Center for German Studies of Peking University, Müller delivered a speech titled "Prospects for Sino-German Cooperation in the Automotive Industry" in Room 208 of Minzhu Building, and held discussions and exchanges with faculties and students from the School of Foreign Languages, School of Government, School of Economics, National School of Development and other faculties. Professor Huang Liaoyu, Director of the Center for German Studies, Assistant Professor Huang Chaoran, Office Director of the Center, and Zhang Lin, Chief Representative and General Manager of VDA China, attended the discussion session.

Mao Mingchao, Tenured Associate Professor at the Department of German Language and Literature, School of Foreign Languages and host of the event, noted in his opening remarks that Sino-German cooperation in the automotive industry is an important component of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and acts as a stabilizer for their economic and trade ties. The automotive industries of China and Germany enjoy extensive room for cooperation in such fields as collaborative innovation and green mobility. He expressed the wish to explore the future landscape of Sino-German automotive industry cooperation together with President Müller and all participating faculties and students.

In her speech, President Müller pointed out that against the backdrop of growing fragmentation of the global economy and politics and rising uncertainties, all parties should firmly reject isolation and advance mutual understanding and goal-oriented cooperation through constructive dialogue. Confronted with shared challenges including climate change, digital transformation and sustainable development, the automotive industries of Germany and China should keep focused on long-term objectives, promote openness, enhance mutual trust and forge ahead together, so as to ensure that technological innovation delivers benefits to the societies and people of both countries.

During the subsequent discussions, Luo Wei, member of the Center for German Studies and Assistant Professor at the School of Government, elaborated from the perspective of organizational theory on the functions of industrial associations as a platform, which include representing industrial interests, facilitating communication between government and enterprises, formulating industry standards and promoting public communication. Meanwhile, she also looked into how industrial associations can set up mechanisms to bolster cooperation in a co-opetition environment.

Mo Jiawei, Tenured Associate Professor at the School of Economics, presented data analysis and pointed out that China has registered a substantial growth in its exports of complete new energy vehicles and relevant intermediate products to Germany since 2020. The current high oil prices have reduced the opportunity cost of transportation transition. China's strengths in the digital economy and new energy infrastructure are highly complementary to Germany's automotive industrial system. Admittedly, realizing such cooperation potential still faces a host of challenges.

Xue Sifan, Assistant Professor at the National School of Development, analyzed the European Union's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and the underlying trade protectionist mechanisms. He stated that China's subsidies for electric vehicles have been gradually phased down starting from 2022. Although the price undertaking mechanism reached between China and the EU is intricate, it sends a signal of defusing disputes and pursuing active cooperation, which is well received.

In the closing remarks, Mao Mingchao said that President Müller's visit fully demonstrates the broad prospects for cooperation between the Chinese and German automotive industries. He expressed the expectation to deepen exchanges between the Center for German Studies and the German Association of the Automotive Industry, and contribute to the long-term and sound development of Sino-German relations.

Contributed by: Department of German Language and Literature, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University

Translated by Zhou Junxia