*  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen Welcome to our reception here in Beijing. I am happy to have the opportunity to officially thank the Bundesbank’s departing representative, Winfried Liedtke, and to welcome his successor, Thomas Notheis. Allow me to say a few words on the roots of international cooperation.
Not too long ago the saying was that when the United States sneezes, the world catches a cold. This is certainly still true, and the turbulence following the Federal Reserve’s announcement of tapering was a case in point. However, the world economy of today is no longer a unipolar system. Take China as an example.