Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ｐｒｅｍｉｅｒ ａｎｄ Ｇｅｒｍａｎ Ｃｈａｎｃｅｌｌｏｒ Ａｔｔｅｎｄ Ｃｏｎｃｅｒｔ Ｍａｒｋｉｎｇ ３５ Ｙｅａｒｓ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｇｅｒｍａｎｙ Ｄｉｐｌｏｍａｔｉｃ Ｔｉ

A concert in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC and the German Embassy in China was held in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing on the evening of August 27.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel who was in China for an official visit attended the concert. Present at the event were Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi， Cultural Minister Sun Jiazheng， Director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council Cao Kangtai as well as chief members of Chancellor Merkel’s entourage.

Before the concert， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and German Ambassador to China Michael Schaefer respectively invited Premier Wen Jiabao and Chancellor Merkel to deliver speeches.

Premier Wen said， since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany in 1972， the two countries have enjoyed good bilateral ties over the past 35 years and the friendship between the two peoples has been continuously deepened. China and Germany are two great nations and have bred splendid cultures. The people of the two countries are intelligent， upright， trustworthy and inured to hardship and hard work. This shared “nature” has not only cemented true friendship between the two peoples， but also constitutes an important basis for future development of bilateral relations. Let us play together the music of Sino-German friendship， cooperation， harmony and joy， and write a beautiful chapter in the annals of Sino-German relations.

Chancellor Merkel said， Germany and China have witnessed rapid development of their relations and are important cooperative partners with ever closer exchanges and cooperation. Germany will organize in China in the next 3 years a series of activities under the motto “Germany and China—Together in Motion”， which will be the largest publicity event Germany has ever held overseas. These activities will surely bring Germany and China closer. Merkel expressed the hope that through them Germany and China would march towards a better future bilateral ties. To this end， she urged both sides to enhance youth exchanges and invited 400 Chinese students to visit Germany.

After the speeches， the German-Chinese Orchestra Young Euro Classics composed of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Young German Philharmonic Orchestra with well-known conductor Tang Muhai at the baton played Train Toccata， Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major (K.488)， Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C Minor (Op.68). Young Chinese vocalist Huang Ying sang Chinese songs I Live at the Source of the Yangtze River and I Love You China.

More than 1，300 people of various circles from China and Germany enjoyed an evening permeated with the atmosphere of Sino-German friendship.