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experiences. The Hanseatic City is in any case close- ly tied with China through its port. Around a third of total cargo is bound for the People’s Republic or orig- inates there. DU Xiaohui sees no mutual, still less a one-sided, economic dependence. “We are interwo- ven,” is his positive take on the relationship.
41,000 CHINESE NATIONALS
Trade relations between the countries are one aspect, cultural exchange another. Increasing numbers of Chi- nese are discovering the joy of travel and visiting Eu- rope. The city twinning between Shanghai and Ham- burg is bringing the cultures closer. “My fellow Chinese feel very happy here,” emphasizes DU Xiaohui. Besides Chinese tourists, he looks after over 41,000 nationals in his consular district. Besides Hamburg, this covers Bre- men, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.
More than 550 Chinese companies have settled in the Hanseatic City – and the number is rising. “Ham- burg is the driving force and pioneer in our economic relations,” says DU Xiaohui. He finds current develop- ments in the port and business there of interest, for example the acceptance of 5G technology and the digital revolution. Adjustment of the fairway will pro-
duce considerable improvements for the sea route between Hamburg and China. For air freight, howev- er, there’s no direct service. For the New Silk Road, DU Xiaohui still has one request: Clear recognition from the City of Hamburg of involvement in this pro- ject. ■
Brief portrait
DU Xiaohui has been China’s Consul-General in Ham- burg since the end of 2018. Now 44, he studied Ger- man, among other subjects, and took an MA in Inter- national Relations. He is married and has one son. He commenced his career on the staff of the Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic in 1997. From 1998, he spent seven years as an Attaché and Third Secre- tary at the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany. He spent the next eight years as Deputy Head of Department and desk officer in the European Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Befo- re taking up his post as Consul-General in Hamburg, he then worked as a Counsellor at the embassies in Germany and Austria, as well as the Protocol De- partment of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
HAMBURG AND CHINA ■
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