Angela Merkel is making her ninth visit to China as Germany’s chancellor, from Sunday to Tuesday, to attend the fourth round of ChinaGermany Intergovernmental Consultations. In addition to Beijing, she has seen many other Chinese cities on previous visits.
May 2006: Beijing, Shanghai —During her first visit to China, Merkel visited Shanghai’s Urban Planning Exhibi tion Hall and St. Ignatius Cathedral. She spoke at a meeting of the German Cham ber of Commerce in China and rode the world’s only commercially operational maglev rail line.
August 2007: Beijing, Nanjing —The chancellor visited Nanjing , Jiangsu province, to launch Germany and China: Moving Ahead Together, a threeyear campaign, along with provincial leaders. During her stay, she also visited the Sino German Law Institute at Nanjing University and the city’s Siemens plant. Her reputa tion in China was somewhat enhanced by her decision to stay in a junior suite rather than a presidential suite at her hotel.
October 2008: Beijing — Merkel attended the seventh AsiaEurope Meeting on Oct 24 and 25.
July 2010: Beijing, Xi’an — Dur ing a visit to Xi’an, Shaanxi prov ince, the German leader held talks with thenpremier Wen Jiabao as well as heads of German and Chinese compa nies. Wen accompanied her on a visit to Siemens Signaling Co Ltd, a SinoGer man joint venture. Merkel also visited the mausoleum of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of China, where the Terracotta Warriors are located.
February 2012: Beijing, Guangzhou — After a stop in Beijing, Merkel visited Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where she and Wen attended a trade seminar for Chinese and German business leaders. She also visit ed the Chinese branch of Herrenknecht AG, a German manufacturer of tunnel drilling machines.
August 2012: Beijing, Tianjin —Wen accompanied Merkel on a trip to Tianjin, the former premier’s home city, traveling via highspeed rail. Merkel held talks with entrepreneurs from both countries and attended the launch of the 100th Airbus A320.
July 2014: Chengdu, Beijing —Merkel chose Chengdu, Sichuanprovince, as the first stop of this visit and learned how to make kung pao chicken, a wellknown local dish. In Beijing, she deliv ered a speech to students at Tsinghua Uni versity and visited the Temple of Heaven, where she and Premier Li Keqiang interact ed with German and Chinese students.
October 2015: Beijing, Hefei —Li accompanied Merkel on a visit to his hometown in Anhui province. The pair visited Hefei University and attended an economic conference. Merkel also visited Shenfu village in Hefei, which is a demon stration village for China’s new rural con struction.
June: Beijing, Shenyang — In Beijing, Merkel was scheduled on Mon day to cochair the fourth round of the ChinaGermany Intergovernmental Consultations with Li. The chancellor will also trav el to Shenyang, Liaoning province, to visit a ChineseGerman industrial park.
MO JINGXI
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