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REGIONAL NEWS | South & Southwest China | Chamber Affairs
German-Chinese Economic Forum Looks Ahead:
German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Top Business Leaders Point out Solution
The trip was not Federal Chancellor Merkel’s first and certainly will
not be her last visit to China, but the number of tasks she set out to
accomplish exceeded most of her previous travels to the Far East. This
time, China not only welcomed Merkel as Germany’s head of government
but also perceived her as Europe’s most influential voice regarding
the European debt crisis.
After starting in Beijing, the Chancellor continued her tight agenda
in Guangzhou. No surprise, the Beijing stopover was dedicated to
politics and macroeconomics: Chancellor Merkel met Chinese head
of state Hu Jintao, held a keynote speech at the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences (CASS) in favour of the Euro, and promoted the European
Union as a whole. The Chancellor’s Guangzhou visit focused on
business topics but also gave considerable weight to politics: Prime
Minister Wen Jiabao accompanied Angela Merkel to the capital of
Guangdong province, highlighting the importance of her visit. She
also met with Party Secretary Wang Yang, one of the top candidates
for China’s centre of power, the Politburo Standing Committee.
The German-Chinese Economic Forum gathered the German business
community together. It was endorsed by the Asia-Pacific-Committee
of German Business (APA) and organised by the Delegation of German
Industry and Commerce Greater China, Guangzhou (AHK) in close cooperation
with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
(CCPIT) Guangdong and Guangzhou. The German Chamber of Commerce
in China • South and Southwest China (GCC with AHK) made use of the
opportunity by combining the Economic Forum with a networking event
for GCC and CCPIT members, as well as selected regional VIPs.
APA Chairman Peter Löscher, well known as the global head of
Siemens, opened the Economic Forum by offering a first glance at the
economic weight and urban development of the Pearl River Delta.
84 April - May 2012
In her much anticipated speech, Dr. Angela Merkel highlighted
the state of the German “Mittelstand” and its opportunities in and
for China: The Chinese need for sustainable solutions in transport,
energy and communication infrastructure is one of a variety of
examples where German technology could help China to accomplish
its ambitious goals. Speaking of Guangdong, the Federal Chancellor
added to the remarks of the previous speaker, Guangdong Governor
Zhu Xiaodan, in stressing that the province had served as a pioneer
for the efforts and capabilities of Chinese provinces, as well as their
significant liberalisation towards Germany and the West. Merkel
assured the audience that “German companies are prepared and
willing to support!”
In the following panel discussion, Dr. Jürgen Heraeus handled the
severe time restrictions which were imposed by the protocol on the
high-ranking business delegation accompanying Merkel: they arrived
by plane from Beijing in the afternoon, visited the German tunnelling
equipment manufacturer Herrenknecht with Wen Jiabao, and
attended a round table with a selection of top Chinese business leaders.
After attending the German-Chinese Economic Forum, they were
invited to the Governor’s Dinner in Sofitel and a subsequent cruise on
the Pearl River with the Chancellor.
The names of the participants of the panel discussion, however, spoke
for themselves. They included: Dr. Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post
AG, Mr. Jim Hagemann Snabe, CEO of SAP AG, and Mr. Liang Wengen,
not only one of China’s richest businessmen, but also said to be a
designated member of the nation’s top political cadre.
The discussion dealt with the solutions provided by German and
Chinese companies for the challenges of urbanisation and the
development of megacities in the Pearl River Delta.