Is it suspected that someone is behind the scenes to block the normal exchanges between China and Germany?

With the change of the international situation, the voice of cutting off economic ties with China began to ring frequently in Germany, and more people hope to extend this "decoupling" to other fields. Recently, a news related to this has attracted people's attention.

The University of Frankfurt, Germany, issued a statement in early March that it would not extend the cooperation agreement with the Confucius Institute, and the future cooperation with the institution "will depend on the specific situation", such as offering Chinese courses to university members or departments.

According to the Confucius Institute Office of Fudan University, since its establishment in 2007, the Confucius Institute of Frankfurt University has developed into "the main training institution for Chinese language and culture in the Rhine and Rhine region", and has regularly organized many activities, including book exhibitions, lectures, seminars, etc.

Why should the cooperation agreement, which has lasted for more than ten years, be concluded today?

The University of Frankfurt did not disclose the specific reasons for doing so, but only claimed that this was a decision made after "comprehensive review of the academic cooperation between the University and its domestic and foreign partners". The university also said that future cooperation projects must be able to "bring specific added value to our scientific research and teaching".

The key point is that the statement also pointed out that before the decision was made, an independent expert committee had reviewed the cooperation between the University of Frankfurt and the Confucius Institute and found that "the Chinese authorities have exerted significant influence on teaching and research."

For a long time, some people in the West have regarded Confucius Institutes as eyesore. An organization dedicated to spreading the Chinese language and culture has been labeled with various unnecessary hats, such as spying penetration, infringement of academic freedom, and so on. Behind these operations, the Cold War mentality of "fighting against every encounter" is the main reason why the United States especially suppressed the Confucius Institute during the Trump era.

The University of Frankfurt emphasized that the cooperation with the Confucius Institute has passed the "independent review" of relevant parties, which seems to indicate that the decision not to renew the agreement is the "free will" of the university, rather than succumbing to certain political forces.

However, the university not only did not point out the specific reasons for the downgrade of cooperation, but also thanked the two sides for their "good and trusting cooperation for many years" in the statement. The contradiction between them can make people read the meaning of "what is explained is what is covered up".

At the very least, the school "took the initiative" to clarify this fact, which shows that there are also people in Germany who criticize Confucius Institutes for no reason. In fact, Germany is full of more radical people who hope to achieve a more complete "decoupling" from China in the fields of culture, science and other fields. Recently, when a reporter interviewed Mukherjee, chairman of the German Academic Exchange Center (DAAD), he asked seriously:

"A crisis in Sino-German relations is approaching. Is the possible use of force against Taiwan regarded as a red line, or has the German scientific community begun to reconsider its cooperation with China?"

The reporter's question represents a recent "worry" of many decoupling theorists, that is, taking the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the police to avoid repeating the mistakes of relations with Russia in China. However, Mukherjee did not follow the reporter's advice, but gave him a supplementary lesson in international politics. He said: "Chinese Mainland and Taiwan are different from Russia and Ukraine. The former is not applicable to international law. In terms of foreign policy, Germany has adhered to the one China principle for decades."

Mukherjee also mentioned the Confucius Institute in his interview. According to him, so far 19 universities in Germany have cooperated with China to establish Confucius Institutes, and only 2 universities have withdrawn from the cooperation agreement (the interview was slightly earlier than the time when the University of Frankfurt made a statement). Mukherjee believes that the cooperation agreements between universities are different and cannot be generalized, but one conclusion is clear: Germany should not destroy such cooperation.

The chairman of the German Academic Exchange Center stressed that there has always been a misunderstanding of "China's rise" in the western world. In fact, China is "just returning to the place it has been for centuries". He said: "No one can deny that China has the right to have a significant impact on the multipolar order. Therefore, we must have a clear understanding: even if there are different values, we must maintain exchanges with China."

As you said. China and Germany have established inextricable links, both official and private. From this point of view, the termination of a cooperation is only an isolated event, and the analysis of its joints is of limited significance. Even if someone really wants to block the normal exchanges between the two countries, there is no way to control the "general trend" of the development of Sino-German relations.

It is worth mentioning that while Frankfurt University announced that it would limit cooperation with Confucius Institute, the university also said that it would expand its organization and scientific research cooperation with Fudan University. Vice President Huth said that the two universities have achieved fruitful results in student exchange and other programs, so he looked forward to "continuing to develop this cooperation" on an academic basis in the future without prejudice.