The German—Chinese Year of school and youth exchange 2016

Liu+Ziwei

【Abstract】As the embodiment and the implementation of cultural diplomacy， it is believed that the German-Chinese Year may initiate a new climax in the Sino-German relations. This essay discusses the reasons mainly from its critical role in the Sino-German cultural exchange and its potential influence on the Sino-German relations.

【Key words】the German-Chinese Year of school and youth exchange； cultural exchange； the Sino-German relations

The initiative to enhance mutual-communication between German-Chinese youths was first proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2014 and in the following year， it was co-determined that 2016 would be the German-Chinese Year of school and youth exchange with the theme of ‘Communication， Friendship and Future.

Sino-German cultural exchange is based on the cultural exchange agreement signed in 1979. Since then， official cultural exchange projects have developed and flourished at a rapid and steady speed. After reviewing the published papers on Deutschland-Studien in the recent ten years from 2006 to 2015， the author recognized that from the year of 2007， the diplomatic focus between Germany and China shifted to cultural exchange symbolized by the events of the establishment of first Confucius Institute in Freie Universit?t and Deutsche Welle announcing the key emphasis on the diplomatic work towards China would be the cultural communication. In the following years， many universities and institutions in both countries carried out various activities with gradually enlarged scales， and the number of Chinese students studying in Germany increased from 1， 280 in 2003 to 4， 239 in 2009. In the March of 2010， for the first time， Germany organized cultural exchange activities called ‘China Week together with other countries with 45 German universities， and over one million students involved so as to promote the mutual communication among the youth. Meanwhile， in the same year， representatives from Nanjing University held ‘Nanjing University Day which was the first time for Chinese top universities going abroad to for self-development and self-promotion. Therefore， this initiative is the climax and the fruit of the cultural exchange between two countries these years. According to the website of the Federal Republic of Germany embassies and consulates in China， over thirty exchange activities were held covering sports， education， technology， culture and other fields. With reference to the different layers of culture， those exchange activities can be classified into three categories： material culture， system culture and value culture.

Material culture is the surface layer of culture， which is perceptible， such as folk arts and crafts， performing arts， manners and customs， as well as some cultural products like television， broadcast， books etc. Among the thirty activities， most of them belong to material culture-exchange activities， for example， music competitions， football matches and educational exchanges. Through these activities， the youth from either side could have a more comprehensive understanding of the other side and they may get rid of the original stereotype of each other.

System culture refers to a series of rules and regulations set to standardize peoples behaviors， including political system， economic system， social system and legal system. For example， the German-Chinese Exchange Programme in Cultural Management called Hu Tan which was first stated in 2013 was also held in this exchange year. In this programme， culture managers and cultural institutes from China and Germany was brought together to get involved in a cultural management project which would facilitate knowledge through various theory seminars and simulated trainings so as to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in the area of culture， get familiar with different cultural management systems and optimize management philosophy and mode.

Value system includes a countrys ideology， belief and morality. According to the activity list， many institutes carried out exchange programs for students to live and study in the other country， so that both Chinese and German youths could be immersed in a brand new cultural environment to experience different cultural values.

All in all， it is necessary for both authorities to provide a platform for mutual communication among the youth. Besides， the cooperative and friendly tie between the youth will expand to the areas of trade， tourism， economy， technology etc. and definitely benefit the future generations. Last years cultural exchange among the youth was an unprecedented effort for both countries to strengthen exchange， promote understanding， advance cooperation and deepen friendship.

References：

[1]江建國.三十而立-中德建交30周年硕果综述[EB/OL].http：//www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/252/9095/9098/20021011/ 839879.html.

[2]时雨.2007年中德关系大事记[J].德国研究，2008（1）.