Neighbour China – Helmut Schmidt in Conversation with Frank Sieren -

“We are not the ideal for the Chinese; our opinions are therefore not the criterion for their efforts.”
Max Frisch comments on his tour in China with Helmut Schmidt, 1975
Helmut Schmidt – China expert through passion
In May 1990, ten months after the bloody suppression of the demonstration on Tiananmen Square he was the first European politician who once again picked up the thread of conversation with China. Helmut Schmidt met with Deng Xiaoping for a private discussion. From Mao through to Deng to the current president Hu Jintao – for 30 years Helmut Schmidt has been engaged in a close exchange of opinions with the leadership in Beijing.
No other German has followed the development of China into world power as steadily and with such interest, and in the process he has among other things developed a deep personal friendship with the former Prime Minister Zhu Ronji which persists until today. In conversation with Frank Sieren he talks about why China fascinates him so much, and what he experienced there during his numerous visits. Helmut Schmidt manages to concisely and vividly express how China is changing the world.
Hardback edition: 328 pages, Euro 22.00 (D), Euro 22.70 (A), sFr39.90
(September 2006)
ISBN-10 3430300045, www.econ-verlag.de
Paperback edition: 336 pages, Euro 9.95 (D), Ero 10.30 (A), sFr 18.90
ISBN-10: 354836974x, www.ullstein-verlag.de