Good afternoon!
It is my great honor to attend the 2026 Yangtze-Rhine Regional Dialogue. On behalf of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Düsseldorf, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Chinese and German friends who have worked hard for the successful holding of this event, and a warm welcome to all the guests and friends here today.
Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends,
Among the major rivers in the world, China's Yangtze and Europe's Rhine are two great waterways—respectively a mother river and a “vater” river—possessing great vitality, carrying capacity and affinity. Though separated by mountains and seas, the two great rivers have nourished the civilizations on both sides, witnessed their respective development, and share a remarkably similar open and inclusive character.
The two river basins were linked by a close and dense network of exchanges: Shanghai, as the core city of the Yangtze River Basin and the gateway of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, has played a key role as a bridge for mutual visits by enterprises, technology exchange and industrial matchmaking between the two basins. Wuhan and Duisburg established China-Germany’s first pair of sister cities, and the development of the China-Europe Railway Express and logistics hubs has produced encouraging results. Sister-city relations between Chongqing and Düsseldorf, Chengdu and Bonn, Ningbo and Aachen, Jinhua and Düren, and Changzhou and Essen have continued to flourish, with frequent exchanges among people from all sectors. In short, the two river basins have carried out in-depth cooperation in economic trade and investment, industrial development, green ecology, urban governance and many other fields, and have strengthened people-to-people and cultural exchanges through platforms such as the "China Festival," Dragon Boat Races and the Young Envoys Scholarship (YES) Program, leaving countless moving stories.
Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends,
In February this year, Chancellor Merz's first visit to China since taking office was a complete success. The day before yesterday, President Steinmeier also formally set off on another state visit to China after nearly eight years. The frequent high-level exchanges between China and Germany, together with the new cooperation consensus they have made, have charted the course for the China-Germany all-round strategic partnership in the new era. Next year will mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. Therefore, it could not be more timely for us to gather here today to discuss cooperation and sustainable development of the two river basins.
The Consulate General of China in Düsseldorf will, as always, offer full support and facilitation for China-Germany local-level cooperation, business and trade cooperation, and academic, cultural and tourism exchanges. We sincerely wish this Dialogue a complete success and a new chapter in cooperation between the two river basins!
Thank you!