Four soldiers carry a wounded comrade to a mobile operating tent as rain patters on a roof awning overhead. Inside, there are two operating tables, medical monitors, and a large cupboard containing tamponades, swabs and sterile scalpels. Without saying a word, a female soldier helps the German military doctor Sven Schläfke into his medical coat.

At the same time, a medic glues a piece of cloth with fake blood onto a patient's stomach. The medic adds paint and covers the patient's body with blue cotton sheets. Then Schläfke and his Chinese colleague Zheng, a soldier in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), head over to the operating table.

Germany and China drill together

Outside there is thunder and lightning. Schläfke explains that normally, they would now be forced to halt the surgery, as German field hospitals tents are not grounded. This means they risk being struck by lightning. But as Schläfke and Zheng are running this medical drill in a Chinese field hospital tent they can carry on, as these are partially grounded. Zheng and his fellow Chinese soldiers remain calm and everything goes ahead as normal. Then, finally, the thunder storm has passed. The sky over the German army base in Feldkirchen, just outside of Munich in Bavaria, clears up.

For the joint drill, consisting of medical military practice, the two armies set up a field hospital at the German base of Feldkirchen

Different countries have different safety standards — and these can make the difference between life and death. Schläfke and Zheng, along with other doctors and medics from the German Bundeswehr and China's PLA, have spent the past two weeks practicing such critical situations on German soil. The joint exercise, titled "Combined Aid," involved some 90 Chinese and 120 German soldiers. In 2016, both armed forces ran a joint medical drill in China, but this is the first time that People's Liberation Army troops have come to Germany to train with the German armed forces.

The kettle incident

"It feels odd when you think about cooperating with Chinese soldiers," says Matthias Frank, a spokesperson for the Bundeswehr medical services. "They have an entirely different culture." That became clear from the kettle incident.

The story has made its way around Feldkirchen. The Germans had fitted the living quarters for their Chinese guests with kettles to make them feel at home. But when some 100 Chinese soldiers all started boiling water to make tea at the same time, the fuse blew, leaving the entire base without power. Yet aside from this incident, everyone says both sides have been getting on really well. They communicate in English and rely on medical protocols for everything else — or, if need be, on universally understood hand gestures. As doctor Zheng explains, "Inside, all bodies are all the same."

Chinese soldiers train for epidemic in Bavaria Special delivery This Chinese armored medical evacuation vehicle arrived by ship at the port in Hamburg, before being shipped to southern Germany and the Bavarian town of Feldkirchen. A total of 92 Chinese and 120 German soldiers are taking part in the Combined Aid 2019 exercise, along with 120 men and women in supporting roles.

Chinese soldiers train for epidemic in Bavaria No ordinary exercise The armored medical evacuation vehicle and other Chinese army supplies were brought here to Feldkirchen, where the exercise is taking place until July 17. It's the first of its kind in Germany in the history of German-Chinese military cooperation. In 2016, 38 Bundeswehr medical orderlies took part in a previous exercise in China.

Chinese soldiers train for epidemic in Bavaria Folding hospital The exercise is simulating a fictitious UN deployment. The scenario: Cholera has broken out in several refugee camps, and there are many wounded people elsewhere. The Chinese soldiers brought their own mobile hospital along with them for the exercise. It can be pulled out and folded up like an accordion.

Chinese soldiers train for epidemic in Bavaria Ready in no time "It's impressive how fast the mobile equipment from the Chinese People's Liberation Army can be set up," said a Bundeswehr report. "The modern Chinese tents are up and ready within a few minutes, and the medical equipment is put in place just as quickly."

Chinese soldiers train for epidemic in Bavaria Medical training In the 2016 joint exercise, training focused on treating and providing for earthquake victims. China has plenty of experience in this area. Following earthquake disasters in 2008, 2010 and 2012, it had to take care of between 40,000 and 50,000 injured people each time. The 2019 exercise only involves medical staff, but it's being seen as a first step toward limited military cooperation.

Chinese soldiers train for epidemic in Bavaria Tricky translation During the joint exercise, participants either speak English, or use an interpreter. The German army has said the exercise is helping to establish international cooperation, in preparation for a possible cross-border outbreak of disease.

Chinese soldiers train for epidemic in Bavaria Strong together The exercise "is also extremely relevant with regard to non-military disease prevention, as there is an international duty to protect the population against epidemics and pandemics," said the Bundeswehr. There's even a joint logo for Combined Aid 2019, incorporating the German and Chinese flags. Author: Marco Müller



German and Chinese troops in Mali

Despite their differences, Germany and China's armies are already cooperating in the context of the international UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, one of the most difficult and dangerous UN operations on the entire African continent. Both nations contribute roughly 400 soldiers each. Only African peacekeeping nations contribute a greater number of troops.

The two armies are therefore running emergency drills to prepare them for medical situations they might face in the West African country. Today, they have set up a mock UN refugee camp in the Bavarian army base. Several mock patients lie on field cots, their faces painted white to simulate an illness. Several soldiers are pretending to be sick, too.

Nearby, microbiologists Yang Chaojie and Nicole Fiedler are using a mobile lab to test for contagious diseases. "These tests are similar, of course," Fiedler says, adding that nobody "reinvents the medical sciences." But Chinese colleague Yang does have something the Germans do not: A method for quickly identifying whether someone has cholera.

Yang (seated) and Fiedler (standing) practiced identifying contagious diseases from microbe probes

Suddenly, the phone rings in the field hospital. There is a fictitious cholera outbreak in the simulated refugee camp. The hospital is transformed into a quarantine station with the goal of preventing an all-out cholera epidemic. Similar situations have already happened in real life, for example when West Africa suffered the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Lt. Col. Frank of the German medical commando explains that at the time, the German and Chinese medical field stations were located side by side, which got both sides talking. He is impressed by his Chinese counterparts: "The Chinese medical soldiers are real specialists when it comes to fighting and containing epidemics."

Read more: End of a 'secret' German military mission in Cameroon

Medics from China's PLA and Germany's Bundeswehr responded to a simulated cholera outbreak

Two perfectionist cultures

Both sides can learn a lot from each other, as the German and Chinese troops keep reiterating. German soldiers are impressed by the PC tablet the Chinese have attached to their x-ray machine so doctors can easily view the images on-site. They are equally impressed by their compact, stowaway beds complete with medical monitors. The Chinese, in turn, expertly eye German vehicles and appreciate German accuracy. Microbiologist Yang comments on how the drill is run in a strict and orderly manner. "This is typically German for us."

While the Germans and Chinese are united in their cultural love of perfectionism, they tend to view each other critically when it comes to military matters. In late 2018, Germany's then-Defense Minster Ursula von der Leyen embarked on her first trip to China to engage in security talks. Her goal was build trust.

Joint drills like the one in Feldkirchen have been strictly limited to medical cooperation. Military maneuvers were not on the agenda. After all, delivering first aid throughout the world is already challenging enough.

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