On the night of December 9, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Prof. Chen Anmin, the President of the Chinese German Society of Medicine (Chinesisch-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizin) and Prof. Wang Wei, the President of Tongji Hospital at the German Embassy in China. The Chinese Ambassador to Germany and the German Ambassador to China were present. Steinmeier graciously invited Chen and Wang to attend the 169th Bergedorf Round Table and the banquet hosted by German Federal Government that day.

In the meeting, Steinmeier pinned great hope for and expressed full confidence in strengthening Sino-German medical cooperation, especially the cooperation with Tongji Hospital in AI and medical big data. He was concerned about the development of WuhanSino-German Friendship Hospital inaugurated atOptical Valley Branch of Tongji Hospital and the construction of Optical Valley Children's Hospital, recognized Tongji Hospital's efforts and important role in Sino-German medical exchanges, and expected it to become a model for Sino-German exchanges.

It is well known that Tongji Hospital is the cradle of Sino-German medical exchanges. In 1900, German doctor Erich Paulun founded Tongji Hospital in Shanghai which has become the most influential and productive platform for Sino-German medical exchanges. In 1984, Academician Qiu Fazu of Tongji Hospital known as the father of modern Chinese surgery founded CDGM and the German Chinese Society of Medicine (DCGM) in collaboration with German medical experts. In the past more than 30 years, an annual academic conference whose administrative body is in Tongji Hospital has been held in China and Germany alternately. With the persistent efforts of Tongji Hospital and the constant deepening of Sino-German medical exchanges, contacts between Chinese and German medical and scientific workers have been increasingly close, the medical technology and healthcare causes of China and Germany have thriven, and the people-to-people friendship between China and Germany has kept yielding fruits.

In June 2016, witnessed by China's Minister of Health Li Bin and her German counterpart Hermann Gröhe, DCGM, CDGM and Tongji University entered into a cooperation agreement on the construction of Wuhan Sino-German Friendship Hospital. On October 31, 2018, China's firstSino-German friendship hospital was inaugurated atOptical Valley Branch of Tongji Hospital, with the name "WuhanSino-German Friendship Hospital". 34 officials and experts from the German Embassy in China and DCGM witnessed the historic moment.

In the future, based on WuhanSino-German Friendship Hospital, Tongji Hospital will promote Sino-German medical exchanges, build a world top hospital,boost the construction of healthy China and become a model for Sino-German exchanges.