On 7 December 2025, nearly 50 Chinese scholars and policy researchers gathered in Beijing for the 2025年德国形势年终研讨会 “2025 Year-End Seminar on the Situation in Germany.”

A readout of the seminar was published on the WeChat blog of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on 12 December. It’s also available on its website.

Feng Zhongping, Director of the Institute of European Studies and President of the Chinese Association for European Studies, has kindly authorised the translation. The readout is also available at the association’s website.

2025年德国形势年终研讨会

2025 Year-End Seminar on the Situation in Germany

On 7 December 2025, the “2025 Year-End Seminar on the Situation in Germany” was successfully held in Beijing. The seminar was co-hosted by the China-Germany Cooperation Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the Institute of European Studies at CASS, and the Society of German Studies at the Chinese Association for European Studies.

Nearly 50 experts and scholars attended the meeting from CASS, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), Peking University, Renmin University of China, China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beihang University, Beijing International Studies University, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Fudan University, Tongji University, Shanghai International Studies University, East China Normal University, Shandong University, Heilongjiang University, Sichuan International Studies University, and Zhejiang International Studies University attended the meeting.

The participating scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on the developments and changes in Germany’s politics, economy, diplomacy, society, and security, as well as the evolving situation of China-Germany and China-EU relations.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor Yang Xiepu, Director of the China-Germany Cooperation Center at CASS. Professor Feng Zhongping, Director of the Institute of European Studies at CASS and President of the Chinese Association for European Studies, and Professor Gu Junli, Director of the Society of German Studies at the Chinese Association for European Studies, delivered speeches successively.

In his welcome address, Feng Zhongping extended a warm welcome and expressed sincere appreciation to the experts and scholars who had travelled from across the country. He stressed that Europe is a key focus of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and a