Cultural relations between Germany and China have been developing rapidly through the years.

A considerable amount of the annual budget of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin is dedicated to its Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy, which has often been described as "the third pillar" of German foreign policy and stands on equal footing with the political and economic domain.

An increasing part of those funds goes into German-Chinese cultural and educational cooperation, which is based on a long tradition.

This tradition was evidenced by the inauguration of the Beijing Goethe Institute, one of the beneficiaries of the funds.

The institute was established in 1988 as the first foreign cultural organization in the Chinese mainland.

There is a huge demand for cultural activities and exchange in China - not only in Beijing and Shanghai, but also in other big cities with extraordinary economic development and a rapidly growing urban middle-level income group.

Likewise, the Chinese government is stepping up efforts at cultural promotion abroad.

While a Chinese Cultural Center is scheduled to open in downtown Berlin this year, the eighth Confucius Institute in Germany recently opened in Hannover.

Along with expanding cultural promotion, educational cooperation is also a thriving and productive area of Sino-German exchange.

To date, more than 400 agreements of cooperation and exchange have been signed between institutes of higher education in Germany and China.

There were 1,280 German students studying in China in 2005 - more than from any other European country.

Even more impressive is the annual number of young Chinese heading for Germany for their studies.

For the academic year 2004-05, 27,000 of them were enrolled at German universities, almost an 8 percent growth compared with the previous year.

To make higher education in Germany even more accessible to Chinese students, the German Embassy in Beijing and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) have jointly installed an Academic Examination Center to screen suitable candidates.

This institution has also helped to significantly reduce the amount of time students used to spend in waiting for their visas.

German educational foundations such as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation frequently grant scholarships to support excellent young Chinese scientists.

DAAD spent 11.6 million euros ( $15.6 million) in 2005 to fund 1,042 Chinese pursuing their academic careers in Germany that year.

Yet, youth exchange does not stop at the university campus. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have agreed to strengthen and institutionalize bilateral youth exchange outside the university ambit.

Accordingly, Wen invited 400 German youth to visit China. Split into four groups of 100 participants each, junior professionals and citizens from various walks of life will travel to China this summer and autumn to exchange views and ideas with their Chinese peers.

Youth exchange is just one way to promote mutual understanding. Books are yet another indispensable means of transferring the cultural "software" of a nation.

Germany is honored to make a special contribution to this year's Beijing International Book Fair, which will open on August 30.

In its role as special guest country, Germany is not only aiming to sell books. A number of events are in preparation to create a memorable framework for the celebration of the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Germany.

A concert of the "young.euro.classic", an orchestra of brilliant European and Chinese musicians conducted by the famous conductor Tang Muhai, will kick off an unprecedented series of events not only covering the cultural sector but presenting Germany and cooperation between Germany and China in all its aspects.

From 2007 until 2010, a number of Chinese cities will host activities under the motto "Germany and China - Moving Ahead Together", showcasing cultural, scientific, economic and lifestyle highlights from Germany.

Later this year, the people of Nanjing will be the first to experience Germany in concerts, exhibitions, movies and fairs, presenting the full scope of this modern and innovative country.

The "Moving Ahead Together" campaign will explain to the Chinese public that there is much more to discover about Germany than luxury cars, beer, highest quality standards, classical music, soccer, Karl Marx, Claudia Schiffer and Michael Schumacher: Germany has successfully mastered many of the challenges that come along with social change and urbanization - topics that are very much in demand in China where the title of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be "Better City, Better Life".

By holding the "Moving Ahead Together" events in major metropolitan hubs, the organizers also wish to enrich and complement the image people back in Germany have of China. The campaign is therefore an instrument to mutually increase knowledge about the partner countries - China and Germany.

Source: China Daily