Zhang Xiaosong, director general of the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, met with Christine D. Althauser, the new German consul general in Shanghai, on October 25.

Zhang Xiaosong said Shanghai and Germany have had very close exchange and cooperation in various areas, and Shanghai and Hamburg, as sister cities, have carried out fruitful exchanges. Germany leads the world in manufacturing industry, vocational education and technological innovation and there is much in these areas that we should learn from. Shanghai is currently speeding up the building of itself into an international economic, financial, trade and shipping center and we will further deepen reform and widen opening up. In the process, we need to learn from and draw upon the experience of more advanced countries, and we welcome more foreign capital and businesses to Shanghai. In the meantime, we will offer a better work and living environment for foreign firms and consular institutions in Shanghai.

Consul General Christine D. Althauser said Germany-China relations have developed steadily. There are over 3,000 German businesses in Shanghai today and this shows economic ties between the two sides are very close. And exchange has also been extended to scientific & technological, educational, cultural and other areas. She pledged to do her best to further expand such cooperation and exchange during her term here.