Premier Wen visits Germany, Sweden and Poland
April 30, 2012 Category VIP visits, Weekly
The global financial crisis is not over and technical innovation and investment would be key to sustaining what remains a “tortuous” recovery, Premier Wen Jiabao has said during his visit to Germany. Wen also said China would press on with reforms aimed at creating better legal protection for foreign investors – a major concern for the growing number of German firms active in the country. More investment in the real economy and technical innovation will be the most powerful drivers of global recovery, he said. Thomas Schrader, Managing Director of Air Handling Technology said that China was now a bigger market for German mechanical engineering products than the United States. Wen Jiabao said China aims to increase trade with Germany, its biggest European business partner, to USD280 billion by 2015, up from USD190 billion last year. China had a trade surplus of €14.5 billion with Germany last year. Wen also said the two countries should work to combat protectionism and improve their mutual market access.
China and Sweden signed a series of trade deals during Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit, including agreements with China-owned Swedish brand Volvo Cars. Five bilateral trade deals were signed between the two countries, and six agreements with companies, including Ericsson, SKF and Sandvik. “We have signed agreements in the environmental technology, railway and road safety sectors,” Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said. Volvo Cars announced a memorandum of understanding with the China Development Bank to finance research and development programs in the area of efficient energy technology, as well as production facilities in China. Premier Wen visited Volvo Cars’ main plant in Gothenburg before traveling to Stockholm. Wen was accompanied by 10 ministers during his three-day visit, as well as business leaders including Geely Chairman Li Shufu. Wen attended the Stockholm+40 Conference, which was held to commemorate the 1972 United Nations Conference on Human Environment, the first global convention attended by the People’s Republic of China after it resumed its legal seat in the UN in 1971, and which initiated the global discussion on sustainability.
Wen also paid a two-day visit to Poland. He said China would aim to double its trade with Central and Eastern European countries to USD100 billion by 2015. Beijing will offer USD10 billion in loans to support partner projects in infrastructure, high-tech and the green economy for countries in the region, Wen said at the second annual China-Central and Eastern European Countries Economic Forum. The summit was attended by heads of government from 14 of the 16 nations in the region ― including Croatia, Lithuania, Macedonia and Estonia ― at the invitation of Poland. Only about 150 Chinese companies have invested in Poland so far with contracted capital of about USD300 million. The heads of government of China and Poland, strategic partners since last year, will meet every two years from now on, Polish Prime Minister Tusk said. Wen was the first Chinese Premier to visit Poland in 25 years. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said it had won approval to open a branch in Poland – the first such move by a Chinese lender.
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