ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an outline of Sino-German relations; it looks at the public perception of CIs in Germany and then goes on to discuss structural and contextual aspects of German Confucius Institutes. Sino-German relations and the German intellectual engagement with China can be traced back several hundred years. The chapter also focuses on funding issues, on aspects of human resources, on issues related to the joint venture structure and the equipment of Institutes. Institutes are organised as joint ventures between German and Chinese partners and both sides contribute to the CI in one way or another as already described in the case of Australia. Somewhat similar to Australia, Germany's economy also rapidly recovered from the economic crises in 2008 mainly because of demand from China. German CIs also target students both from Sinology or China Studies or other disciplines of their home universities, as well as companies and institutions with an interest in China.
