The Berliner who fell in love with China
I met Dietrich Schroeder at Beijing Capital International Airport last month as we waited for our flights home — he was going to Berlin and I was heading to Toronto.
At 80, the retired German High Court judge exuded the energy and enthusiasm of a teenager as he recalled his many travels to Asia.
“I was nicknamed ‘Kabul Schroeder’ because I visited Afghanistan several times,” he said. “Then my nickname was changed to ‘Asian Schroeder’ as I began visiting other countries.”
India and China top the list of nations he has visited.
Although Schroeder began traveling by Volkswagen Beetle in the early 1960s, he did not have a chance to visit China until 1985, a trip that
This Day, That Year
ItemfromApril25,1988, inChinaDaily:Treasury bondsissuedbytheState werepurchasedandsoldin Shenyang,Liaoningprovince,Shanghai,Chongqing, Wuhan,Hubeiprovince, Shenzhen,Guangdongprovince,andHarbin,Heilongjiangprovince,lastweek.
Last year, China’s total government, corporate and household debt reached 36.1 trillion yuan ($5.23 trillion), up by 54.2 percent year-onyear, according to the People’s Bank of China, the deepened his interest in the country.
“This is my 35 th visit to China,” he said in a matterof-fact way.
“Thirty-fifth? You mean, you’ve been to China 35 times?” I asked skeptically.
“Yes, that’s right”, he said, quickly adding, “And I am coming back in October.”
He is coming back to see the Zhang jiajie National Forest Park in Hunan province for a second time “because it is so stunning”.
By then it was boarding time for Schroeder.
Days later, when we resumed our conversation via transatlantic phone calls, I asked him why anyone would visit a country so many times.
“China, like India, is a very interesting country. So there is always something new, and every year I have a new aim,” he said.
“This year, it was the Zhang jiajie park. Last year, it was Larung Gar (in Sichuan province), and in 2015, it was country’s central bank.
The value of local government bonds hit 6 trillion yuan, up from 3.8 trillion yuan in 2015.
Local governments were barred from issuing bonds until 2009, when the Ministry of Finance began issuing bonds on their behalf under a quota system.
The process provides the governments an alternative source of finance, despite tightly-controlled quotas, analysts said.
In February, the ministry said it will encourage local the Huangshan Mountain range (in Anhui province). I walked up!”
For his first trip in July 1985, Schroeder traveled via Hong Kong because he did not believe reports that tourist visas were being issued in Berlin.
“But I was sure that I would get one in Hong Kong.”
Schroeder estimated that, in all, he must have spent the equivalent of two years in China during his visits.
What has amazed him most in the decades since his first trip is China’s transfor- governments to issue bonds in free trade zones this year.
The country launched its first FTZ in Shanghai in 2013.
In late 2014, Tianjin, Fujian and Guangdong were allowed to set up a second group of FTZs. Another seven were added across the country in August.
In 2015, the central bank issued its first offshore yuan mation from a poor country into a global economic and industrial powerhouse.
“The development of China in the past 30 years is overwhelming. It is one of the most modern countries in the world!”
Schroeder’s favorite form of accommodation is hostel dormitories because he says he doesn’t like being isolated in a single room in a big hotel.
“In dormitories, you can talk with other people.”
Despite being an avid traveler, Schroeder is not like other tourists. He doesn’t carry a camera or even a smartphone.
There is no status update on social media either because Schroeder has no such accounts.
“There are so many people who want to be in the public eye, in books or on the internet,” he said.
“But I like being private.”
Contact the writer at abdul@chinadaily.com.cn bonds in London.
The move was expected to help the yuan test the offshore currency market, and facilitate cross-border trade and investment.