About us

The work of FES in China

For more than 30 years, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has been supporting its Chinese partners with consultancy and capacity building within the overall framework of implementing the policy of reform and opening-up. Already in 1979, the first Chinese media experts took part in educational activities of FES in Germany.

A crucial milestone for the work of FES in China was the historic meeting between Deng Xiaoping and Willy Brandt in 1984. As a consequence, the party-to party dialogue between the Communist Party of China and the Social Democratic Party of Germany was initiated. This extraordinary dialogue forms the core of the work of FES in China. Following the agreement between Deng Xiaoping and Willy Brandt, the dialogue aims at fostering exchange beyond ideological boundaries in order to create and nurture mutual trust.

In addition, FES China works with ACFTU-affiliated trade unions, universities and think tanks on a variety of topics in the four areas of Society and Politics, Sustainable Growth Model, Social Justice and Trade Unions as well as Regional and International Affairs.

The overarching objectives of the work of FES in China are – in close coordination with its Chinese partners – to strengthen mutual understanding and trust, to constructively support China in its policy of reform and opening-up, to exchange experiences on the respective development path in order to learn from each other, and finally, to identify answers, in open dialogue, on how to tackle the most important development challenges for China and Germany in the 21st century.