Friends Again
June 15, 2008
An open dialog between the state and civil society included the willingness and ability to criticize, Steinmeier said at the opening of an urban development conference in the megacity of Chongqing on Sunday, June 15.
Common responsibility worked best when the two parties were open towards each other and other countries. "Openness creates trust," he said, adding that politics should not only limit criticism.
Steinmeier told the conference in Chongqing that globalization requires new policies. "Not just between centers of power in a multipolar world, but also between the state and civil society," he added.
The conference considered the challenges of growing urbanization in China. It was part of a series of events under the theme "Germany and China -- Together in Motion" that has been ongoing since autumn 2007.
Shocked by quake effects
Steinmeier had visited the earthquake affected area in the country's south-west on Sunday.
"The situation is dramatic," a visibly shaken Steinmeier said at a camp in the area. It was not possible to imagine from a distance what shock the country had gone through in the wake of the earthquake, the German minister said.
The May 12 quake caused more than 70,000 deaths.
Steinmeier visited the cities of Chengdu and Dujiangyan in the earthquake-hit region to discuss the work of German aid organizations. He said he was pleased that German relief for the victims had arrived so quickly.
Germany plans to assist in the reconstruction of eight schools.
The German Red Cross has already set up a field hospital funded by the German foreign ministry to the tune of more than 1 million euros ($1.5 million).
"A true friend"
Steinmeier said he welcomed developments in Sino-German relations, adding that a "complete normalization" had come about.
His three-day visit to China, which began Friday, came in the wake of a period of frosty ties between Berlin and Beijing after Chancellor Angela Merkel received the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in September 2007.
After meeting Steinmeier in Beijing on Friday, Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi announced that the two countries aimed to resume their dialog on human rights issues.
Yang said the dialog would resume in the second half of this year.
In a further indication of an improvement in the bilateral situation, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao thanked Germany for its earthquake relief aid, which amounted to some 20 million euros, and called Germany "a true friend in need."