Documentation Brochure - Hamburg Summit

Welcome Address by President Karl-Joachim Dreyer
Karl-Joachim Dreyer, President, Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
Two years ago, we set up the first
“Hamburg Summit: China meets
Europe” hoping that it would become
the premier economic gathering to
strengthen the already prospering
business relations between Europe and
China. Our hopes were no illusions –
2006 we have continued this series.
Never before in the history of our Free
and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, we
welcomed so many high ranking
Chinese politicians and businessmen.
This clearly is a sign of trust in our
city as the premier China business
location in Europe. Hamburg is widely
perceived as the most important center
for China-related business all over
Europe. For thousands of companies in
China, our city is the preferred gateway
to the European market. For Hamburg
and its business community the relationship
to China plays a prominent
role: More than two million containers
coming from or going to China - a total
of 20 percent of all containers being
shipped between China and the EU – are
handled by our port every year.
Hamburg plays a central role in the
shipping routes between China on the
one hand and Northern, Central and
Eastern Europe on the other hand.
It is a stable, long lasting and productive
cooperation that is beneficial for
all partners: Hamburg, Germany and
Europe profit enormously from China’s
economic boom. China is no longer only
a sourcing and production place but has
become one of the world´s largest
consumer markets. It has emerged into
one of the global economic players and
is now entering a decisive phase of
economic and political development.
We should therefore put our focus
on the abolishment of trade barriers for
more liberalised markets. In addition to
this, dialogues on strengthening the
legal security must be pushed in order
to create a stable basis for private
investment in China. For the EU, it is
necessary to accept China as an equal
trading partner and to accept fair competition
from Chinese companies.
Both Europe and China have a lot of
experiences to share. Further steps in
this direction still have to be done.
Feasible and long-lasting solutions can
only be reached by an open dialogue. For
this purpose the “Hamburg Summit” is
the perfect platform. It was a pleasure as
well as a special responsibility for us to
host this conference again in 2006.