Fifty years ago this week, China and West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany) formally established diplomatic relations. It took a long time to harmonize the relationship, and there are some problems hitting the right chord to this day.

As part of the celebrations marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between China and the Federal Republic of Germany, the Chinese embassy in Berlin put on a classical concert with famous Chinese musicians, currently part of different German orchestras, coming together to play well-known German compositions.

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It was diplomatic orchestration half a century ago that led to the exchange of ambassadors which saw Wang Yutian arriving in Bonn. 

On touching down at the airport in the West German capital, he kept it short and sweet when addressing the media, saying,"I'm so honored to be the first Chinese Ambassador to Germany."

In Beijing, German and Chinese officials paved the way for the arrival of Rolf Friedmann Pauls as West Germany's first Ambassador in post.

A look back at China-Germany diplomatic ties

While all this was going on, East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, had maintained solid diplomatic ties with the People's Republic Of China.

Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, the relationship between Berlin and Beijing thrived - with trade and manufacturing at the root of the partnership.

Angela Merkel made 12 trips to China during her 16 years as chancellor. Meanwhile, China's President Xi Jinping has so far visited Germany twice, the last time being in 2017, when he pushed for stronger economic ties between the two nations.

"We both go through the path together in openness, innovation and in a mutually beneficial way. We will expand in the area of trade, economics, finance and investment," said the Chinese leader at a news conference during his last visit.

Booming business

Recently though, the new government in Berlin has been less keen to sing from the same hymn sheet as China. "Chinese investments in Europe should be scrutinized much more closely," Said Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck in September.

There may have been a cooling in the public statements from Berlin, but the facts on the ground show that business between Germany and China is still booming.

Last month, the world's largest producer of chemicals BASF, opened a new industrial complex in Zhanjiang that will see the German industrial giant pump around $10 billion into production in China by 2030.

In terms of trade, figures show that China was Germany's biggest trading partner for the sixth year running in 2021, with trade between them worth just over $240 billion.

The two nations have also made big strides in cooperation in fighting climate change, as seen during a meeting of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly, with both sides agreeing that the countries have no fundamental conflicts of interest.