On September 21^st, the Sino-German Center of Finance and Economics (SGC) held its launch ceremony at the German Embassy in Beijing. Among those participating in the launch were the Bank of China’s Vice President and Consultant to Renmin University’s International Monetary Research Institute, PAN Gongshen; the German Ambassador to China, Michael Clauss; Execute Board Member of the German Federal Bank, Carl-Ludwig Thiele; and Director of Renmin University’s International Monetary Research Institute, BEN Shenglin. More than 100 Chinese and foreign guests attended the ceremony. In 2014, President XI Jinping and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel resolved to pursue a comprehensive, strategic partnership to advance bilateral economic cooperation. Bilateral economic ties were strengthened by Frankfurt’s move toward setting up an RMB offshore center and RMB clearing bank. The Sino-German Center of Finance and Economics was established by the State of Hessen, the House of Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt, government agencies, and commercial enterprises. It works in close cooperation with leading Chinese universities, including Renmin University of China.  The Center is committed to strengthening the Sino-German partnership in both the public and private sectors. It promotes bilateral economic and financial cooperation through research, continuing education, and the facilitating of policy dialogue. Executive Board Member of the German Federal Bank Joachim Nagel and PAN Gongsheng of the Bank of China jointly chair the SGC’s council; Renmin University President CHEN Yulu serves as honorary council member. German Ambassador Michael Clauss gave a welcoming speech while Vice President PAN and Carl-Ludwig Thiele of the German Federal Bank together inaugurated the Center by lighting the symbolic “launch ball.” RUC’s BEN Shenglin and other visiting professors also gave speeches to mark the occasion. BEN Shenglin stressed that the establishment of the Sino-German Center of Finance and Economics represents an important step toward furthering cooperation in the areas of bilateral economics and finance. Goethe University and Renmin University, he added, were entering a new phase of their partnership by jointly promoting the project. As major global trade and manufacturing powers, both Germany and China are currently facing many challenges, lending the strategic partnership a broad basis of common goals and interest. Chinese society has entered a period of “new normal,” in which it faces new opportunities as well as unprecedented challenges. In the finance sector, Internet banking is changing China just as it is affecting global markets. BEN hopes that the Sino-German Center will seize the opportunity it has to serve as a model of Sino-German cooperation and in this way make important contributions to the progress of Asia, Europe, and the world at large.