More German investment discussed at China-Germany economic dialogue

The 12th China-Germany Economic Dialogue ("Deutsch-Chinesische Wirtschaftskonferenz" in German) was held in Taicang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Thursday, with guests from both countries sharing their business experiences and seeking investment opportunities.

Among the guests was Rudolf Scharping, a former German defense minister and current chairman of the consulting firm RSBK AG, who stated that he aims to attract more German companies to China.

"Our cooperation between Europe and Germany on the one side, China on the other side, is something which has value in itself. It's not defined by others. And although we have different political systems, although we have some fundamental differences, the common interest in a stable world and in a good development of our societies and nations is overwhelming," he said.

Before the dialogue, the German delegation, led by Christoph Ahlhaus, former mayor of Hamburg and current chairman of the German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (BVMW), visited local German companies in Taicang in search of more investment opportunities.

The city of Taicang is known as "the hometown of German business." Over 560 German companies have established here, with the actual use of German capital exceeding six billion U.S. dollars.

"We are a delegation of about 20 companies from Germany, the medium-sized companies, the German Mittelstand. They are very interested in investing in China, particularly in this region. Therefore they look at what is possible and they feel a big friendship between Germany and China," said Ahlhaus.

With economic uncertainty and rising global competition, some guests believe that both countries need to have confidence in working together.

"We don't think these two great nations, China and Germany, being No.2 and No.3 in the world, cannot find solutions for a better future. I think we can, that's exactly why I believe this confidence need to come back because we know we will find it," said Christian Sommer, CEO and Chairman of the German Center Shanghai.

China is now the largest investment destination for Germany. The first half of 2025 saw a 6.3 percent increase in German investment in China year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.