What hopes and expectations have accompanied the resurgence of China in the 21st century? In which direction does the Chinese compass point? How is Germany managing to find its bearings in the midst of magnetic fields that both attract and repel? How are China and Germany meeting the challenges with which they are confronted, and what contribution can they make to the resolution of global problems?
To mark the Year of Chinese Culture 2012 the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Körber Foundation have joined forces to organize a series of dialogues entitled Magnet China! at which these issues will be discussed. The first dialogue on 31 January 2012 at Allianz Stiftungsforum Pariser Platz in Berlin is a conversation between former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and Professor Dr. Gu Xuewu, the director of the Center for Global Studies at the University of Bonn. It will be moderated by Frank Sieren, the China expert and author.

Read more on www.magnet-china.de

Around the globe, the coordinate systems of politics and economics are shifting. There was no doubt about this at the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum. Rajendra K. Jain, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, emphasised that the EU is an important resource for technologies and source of foreign investments. Outside of business and commerce, however, the EU is of no particular relevance in Asia. Also in Brazil, there is concern about the declining influence of Europe, said João Pontes Nogueira, Director of the BRICS Policy Center and the Institute of International Relations, Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro. The current crisis should therefore not only put Europe's inner problems to the test, but also draw attention to the things that do not work in the global architecture and for which the BRIC countries are important partners. The West must bid farewell to the idea that it stands at the centre of the new world order.

Report

What are the challenges that German foreign policymakers will have to meet in a world in which the conflicts between China and the United States continue to multiply? This question was at the heart of a Policy Game which the Körber Foundation conducted with experts from federal ministries, the German Bundestag, and various embassies. Most of them were members of the Körber Network Foreign Policy. The three main conclusions are: a global power structure, which is more and more influenced by the bipolarity between China and the US, could prompt Germany to act according to a policy of equidistance. There is a certain risk that the EU will be marginalized as foreign policy actor in favor of a continuing prioritization of bilateral relations. The US and China will try their utmost to avoid direct confrontation. Read the most important conclusions of the Policy Game (PDF).

The German elites expect to see increasing competition for global supremacy between the West and Asia. As Europe's influence in the world dwindles, German and European interests must be represented more effectively. These are the findings of a TNS Emnid study commissioned by the Körber Foundation. 405 leading representatives from politics (including 62 member of the German Bundestag), industry, science and the media were asked about their views on Asia. Results of the study