CEO-Talk Ruth Schimanowski + Aiways U5 + Sticking to No-COVID • China.Table

CEO-Talk with Ruth Schimanowski from DAAD Beijing
Beijing sticks to No-COVID strategy
Driving report Aiways U5
Power crisis lets up
China ready for RCEP
Record trade surplus
EU MEPs want more cooperation with Taiwan
Kaisa real estate group in crisis
Opinion: RLS study on China coverage criticized

Dear reader,

In China, science, innovation, and research are regarded as the key drivers of economic progress. Ruth Schimanowski from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) stresses that Germany should learn from this. In the CEO-Talk with Frank Sieren, she pleads for the development of China competence in the Federal Republic. And academic cooperation between the two countries should also be strengthened. However, China’s “No-COVID” strategy and the often bureaucratic approach of Chinese universities are slowing down academic exchange, says Schimanowski, who has been in the country for 20 years.

Jörn Petring and Gregor Koppenburg looked at Beijing’s strict “No-COVID” strategy. While many governments are relaxing the COVID measures, Beijing is still pursuing the approach of keeping the virus entirely out of the country. If anything, the isolation is being tightened, as the winter flight schedule to the People’s Republic recently showed. Restrictions are to be expected for a long time to come.

So far, only a good 1,000 Aiways U5s are driving on German roads. But according to Christian Domke Seidel, that could soon change. The Chinese brand’s electric SUV has a good price-performance ratio and is already convincing in many respects, he concludes after the test drive. If the problems in the crash test and the shortcomings in digitalization are remedied, Aiways could soon compete with German providers.

Have a great start to the week!

Your
Nico Beckert

CEO-Talk

‘We need China expertise beyond sinology’

Ruth Schimanowski heads the DAAD office in Beijing

Not even universities are spared the re-ideologization of the People’s Republic. If you want to work in China as a Western academic, you should be aware of this – and to a certain extent have to come to terms with it, says Ruth Schimanowski. She is heading the Beijing office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In our CEO-Talk, she explains why Chinese scholars are good for the German academic landscape and why there is a renaissance of German as an academic language. The interview was conducted by Frank Sieren.

Ruth Schimanowski spent a large part of her childhood in Africa. It wasn’t until she was 15 that she returned to Germany, where she graduated from high school. After that, she immediately left again – to Taipei to learn Mandarin. Then she returned to Berlin, where she studied physics and spent several years abroad: She first came to Beijing as a DAAD scholarship holder. In between, she went to New Orleans to conduct biophysical experiments. But now, she has been living in the Chinese capital for over 20 years.

Not only Schimanowski’s food score but also her professional stages became quite diverse over the years: she has worked at pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim and in the Cultural Department of the German Embassy to Beijing. She was head of the liaison office of the Episcopal relief organization Misereor in China and managing director of the German Center Beijing of LBBW. She now heads the three DAAD offices in China. Here, you can view the entire interview in German.

Disclaimer: This interview has been translated into English and is not considered an official translation by any party involved in the interview.

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