The Conflict Between Economic Interests And Values: The Change Of German Foreign Policy Toward China After The Cold War

Began in the1990s, China and Germany both get rid of the Cold War pattern, step by step onto the world stage. Looking at China, from isolated hy all countries to accelerate economic reform and opening up, has now become a great country, and its influence felt in many international affairs. Has a huge market and abundant resources, the mode of peaceful rise, many exchanges with other countries, which shows China’s global political and economic influence can not be ignored.The Western world power, Germany, after reunification, the national strength increased dramatically, tried to seek a higher international status, ruling from Helmut Kohl, after Gerhard Schroder, to the present Angela Merkel, all carefully pondering in foreign policy, hope to create greater national interest for the German. Current German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to power, over the years has repeatedly been named the world’s most influential, as well as the world’s most powerful women. Under her leadership, Germany is to quickly restore the glory of the past.Gerhard Schroder pursued "economic diplomacy" since taking office in1998. His tenure to visit China to promote economic and trade relations between China and Germany to pay a great deal of hard work and effort, so that diplomatic relations between China and Germany step into an unprecedented close-friendly stage. Chinese media called Schroder an old friend of Chinese people. Angela Merkel came to power since2005, compared with the former, she made adjustment in the foreign policy that combined "values diplomacy" and "economic diplomacy", use the values diplomacy in the political dimension in order to give the pressure on the Chinese government; in the economic-oriented, like Schroder, choose the economic diplomacy, all for creating the largest international interests for Germany. In the article I will compare the similarities and differences of Schroeder and Merkel’s foreign policy toward China and to explore the contextual factors of their policy.Good development of the Sino-German relations is related to the economic interests of the two countries. Schroder choose economic diplomacy as a means to establish a good Sino-German relations. Merkel use values diplomacy and economic diplomacy, although the values diplomacy let the Sino-German political relations step into a period of low tide, the economic relations between the two countries still grows up steadily. In today’s world, the degree of interdependent is higher than ever before, both China or Germany would hope that the bilateral contacts and relations are stronger, so that the both sides could attain the largest national interests.