German Chancellor Angela Merkel began a three-day official visit to China on the 12th, and co-chaired the fourth round of Sino-German government consultations with Premier Li Keqiang. During their stay in Beijing, Xi Jinping and Zhang Dejiang will meet with Merkel separately.
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) noted that this is Merkel's ninth visit to China since she became German chancellor in 2005.
On the morning of June 13, Li Keqiang held a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People to welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China and co-chaired the fourth round of Sino-German government consultations.
On the evening of June 12, Li Keqiang arranged a special diplomatic itinerary: a walk with Merkel at the Summer Palace for more than 20 minutes. Subsequently, the dinner originally scheduled for 1 hour was "seriously overtimed" to 2 hours and 15 minutes due to speculation between the two prime ministers. At 20:32 that night, Li Keqiang and Merkel walked out of the banquet hall and still walked and talked.
"Political Affairs" noted that in addition to the current Premier Li Keqiang, Merkel and Wen Jiabao also have a good personal relationship, the two not only co-chaired the Sino-German government consultations, held discussions with Chinese and German entrepreneurs, and once had breakfast together. In July 2014, during Merkel's visit to China, the retired Wen Jiabao accompanied Merkel to the National Museum, and Wen Jiabao welcomed Merkel's visit to China again and thanked her for not forgetting her old friends.
Li Keqiang and Merkel
After Li Keqiang became prime minister, Merkel was the first foreign leader to send a congratulatory message
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) noted that in addition to the fourth round of Sino-German government consultations now underway, Li Keqiang has met with Merkel four more times after becoming prime minister. This is also likened to the media image as "Friends". On many of these occasions, the double hair broke the diplomatic convention and talked deeply.
In March 2013, Li Keqiang was inaugurated as premier of the State Council, and Merkel was the first foreign leader to send a congratulatory message. Two months later, on May 26, Li Keqiang visited Germany. During the period, Merkel broke the "iron law" and received a high-standard visit from Li Keqiang.
Germans are known for their emphasis on rules and discipline, and one of their "iron rules" is: "If the weekend is a rest time, you must rest well, without exception!" On May 26, Merkel broke the "iron law" of Germany and received Li Keqiang's visit at a rare weekend with high standards. To this end, all federal police and government workers have to work overtime on Sundays, calculated at double the salary of each person.
When the two prime ministers met with reporters on the same day, Merkel looked at her watch from time to time and suggested that Li Keqiang end the press conference early. This is because she has deliberately arranged a welcome dinner for Li Keqiang's visit at the Merzeenberg Palace. The Metzeberg Palace was built in the early 18th century for the Prussian royal family. According to the media, only a few foreign leaders who have good personal relations with Merkel and have close ties with Germany have the opportunity to be invited here. Since becoming the German State Guest House in 2007, Chancellor Merkel has invited only a handful of foreign dignitaries to the Messeberg Palace.
In July 2014, Merkel visited China for the seventh time at the invitation of Li Keqiang. "Zheng Shi'er" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) noticed that after Merkel's visit to China, she also went to the vegetable market in Chengdu, bought a bag of Pixian bean paste, and learned to fry a plate of Kung Pao chicken. Because of his old friend's love of Sichuan cuisine, later at a small dinner party in Yangyuanzhai in Beijing, Li Keqiang specially arranged to add a dish to entertain his old friend Merkel: boiled beef.
Three months later, Li Keqiang visited Germany again, and the two old friends attended 12 events for 10 hours. In the tight interval between arrangements, Merkel also dragged Premier Li Keqiang to a supermarket and bought two postcards for Li Keqiang to send to his wife and daughter.
Li Keqiang gave Merkel a "mysterious gift" - Luban Lock.
In October 2015, Merkel was invited to visit China for the eighth time, after the completion of the activities in Beijing, on October 30, Li Keqiang led Merkel to her hometown in Anhui Province, jointly inspected the Hefei College co-built by China and Germany, tasted the German black beer brewed by the students themselves, and visited the products designed by the students and put into the German market.
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) noted that this is also the first time that Li Keqiang has accompanied a foreign leader in a province outside Beijing since he became prime minister. That night, in a emblem-style building in Hefei, "Hezhuang", Li Keqiang hosted a banquet to entertain Merkel and exchange gifts. Li Keqiang gave Merkel Huangshan Maofeng and Keemun black tea with Anhui characteristics, as well as a local silk cotton painting in Anhui. Merkel returned with ceramic figures from the Royal German Porcelain Factory and a comic book showing the cultural differences between China and Germany.
Wen Jiabao and Merkel
There was a move out of the ordinary in the diplomatic arena
Wen Jiabao and Merkel met 12 years ago. According to Xinhua News Agency, in May 2004, during his first visit to Germany, Premier Wen met Merkel, then president of the CDU. The first meeting was not long, but Wen Jiabao's sincerity and humility and Merkel's competence and pragmatism left a deep impression on the other party.
In November 2005, after Merkel became the first female chancellor in German history, Wen Jiabao called to congratulate him at the first time.
In the early morning of May 22, 2006, two rare visitors appeared in Beijing's Changpuhe Park—Wen Jiabao, then premier of the State Council, and Merkel, who arrived in Beijing late at night on May 21. The two stayed in the park for about 20 minutes, strolling along the banks of the Changpu River, and Wen Jiabao introduced the scenery to Merkel, who showed a strong interest in buildings and gardens full of classical Chinese characteristics. The two prime ministers also chatted with the elderly who were practicing in the morning. Under the demonstration of Wen Jiabao, Merkel also tried to play Tai Chi softball.
During her second visit to China in August 2007, a symphony concert was held to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany, during which Wen Jiabao and Merkel jointly attended and delivered speeches; in October 2008, during her third visit to China, Merkel gave Wen Jiabao a German version of the novel "Cherry on a Pomegranate Tree" created by Chinese writer Li Er as a gift.
After the financial crisis, Wen Jiabao visited Switzerland, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the EU headquarters from January 27 to February 2, 2009. The trip was hailed as a "journey of confidence" in the context of the financial crisis.
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) noted that Wen Jiabao once recalled the scene of cheering Merkel during a visit to Germany: "In the spring of 2009, it was very cold. I came all the way from Davos to Germany. To be honest, we have no bottom in our hearts about the impact of the financial crisis on the international economy. I was in her office with Chancellor Merkel that day, two people facing out the window, thinking about whether we could control the economic situation and whether we could recover as soon as possible. I remember that the most I said at the time was that confidence is more valuable than money and gold."
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) noted that in 2010, Wen Jiabao and Merkel had a routine move on the diplomatic stage, wen Jiabao changed the itinerary of the trip and made a "lightning visit" to Germany.
On the evening of October 5 of that year, during his attendance at the Eighth Asia-Europe Summit, Wen Jiabao took time to fly from Brussels, the capital of Belgium, to Germany to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and have dinner. The meeting took place at the Metzeberg Palace, about 70 km from downtown Berlin.
According to the itinerary previously released by the Chinese side, Wen Jiabao visited four countries: Greece, Belgium, Italy and Turkey, and did not include Germany. This "extraordinary meeting" between the Chinese and German prime ministers has aroused widespread concern from the outside world.
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) noted that during Merkel's sixth visit to China in August 2012, accompanied by Wen Jiabao, Merkel visited the Forbidden City, and also took the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway from Beijing to Tianjin, where she attended the disembarking ceremony of the 100th Airbus A320 aircraft.
In this regard, the German "Der Spiegel Weekly" published an observation article entitled "Berlin-Beijing Relations Towards 'Comfortable'" and said: The quality of the relationship between China and Germany's two major "world leaders" is not reflected in large-scale military parades and lavish official dinners, but in the "small gestures" of high-level exchanges and the increasing number of talks on non-major issues. During Merkel's visit to China, in addition to attending various meetings in Beijing, Premier Wen Jiabao will personally accompany her by high-speed rail to Tianjin, which is Wen Jiabao's hometown. "This is a great diplomatic honor."
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) found that in Wen Jiabao's interaction with Merkel, there were many "small gestures" like the trip to Tianjin.
On April 22, 2012, when Wen Jiabao visited Germany, he attended 10 events in just 25 hours from arrival to departure. According to reports, Merkel accompanied the whole trip, and in order to hurry, the two took a bus and took a hamburger as lunch.
Merkel is a huge soccer fan, and she once left her husband, who did not like to watch football, in the countryside in order to watch the game. On Merkel's seventh visit to China in July 2014, she chatted with Wen Jiabao about the World Cup.
At that time, the Semi-Final of the World Cup was just around the corner. Wen Jiabao, who has already left the prime minister, greeted Merkel at 8:30 a.m. on July 8, 2014, on the West Gate platform of the National Museum. Two old friends have breakfast together in the Range Rover Hall of the National Museum.
Subsequently, in a speech at Tsinghua University, Merkel revealed the chat content with Wen Jiabao during breakfast. She said: In the morning, she had breakfast with Wen Jiabao, former premier of the State Council, and Wen Jiabao reminded her that there are many fans in China who like the German team, and maybe there will be more Chinese fans watching the game against Brazil than there are German fans.
"Political Affairs" (WeChat ID: gcxxjgzh) Written by: Beijing News reporter Wang Shu Intern He Qiang proofreader: Guo Liqin