Documentation Brochure - Hamburg Summit

A Bridge for Knowledge and Skills
China´s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao gives his opening speech at Hamburg´s City Hall
The visit of Wen Jiabao, Prime
Minister of the People’s Republic of
China, was the highlight at the beginning
of the conference. Many participants
considered his address as
frank and ground-breaking. Wen began
his speech by stating that “since its
inception the Summit has played
an important role in enhancing
cooperation and friendship between
China and the European Union.” And he
continued: “China’s relations with
Europe are the best among relations
with countries, they are stronger than
ever before. If one compares China-EU
relations with a huge ship in the ocean,
the business community would be its
powerful engine.”
In his speech Wen wanted to make a
number of points clear “to help you
better appreciate developments in
China.” He first assured the audience
that China would continue to pursue
the path of peaceful development. In
this process the Chinese government
pursued “a strategy of opening up for
mutual benefit that will bring more
opportunities to the world.” Wen cited a
number of figures to illustrate the
benefits of this policy. “Since its accession
to the World Trade Organisation in
2001,” he mentioned, “China’s annual
imports have averaged about 500 billion
US $, creating nearly 10 million
jobs for the exporting countries and
regions.” The will to open up and eliminate
trade barriers must, however, be in
evidence among all partners, Wen said.
“We call on all countries to open
markets, lift restrictions on technology
exports, boost international investment
and establish an international multilateral
trading system that is open,
fair, reasonable, transparent and nondiscriminatory.”
Naturally, he also commented on the
extremely important energy issue.
“China,” he said, “is a major energy
consumer, but more importantly it is a
major energy producer. Two thirds of its
hydroelectric power potential remain
untapped, and the development of
nuclear, wind and biomass power has
just begun.” In 2005 the Chinese
government had framed a clear target:
“Our goal is to build a stable, economical
and clean energy supply system.”
Wen also dealt with a topic that
dominated many discussions at the
Hamburg Summit: the importance of
protecting intellectual property rights
and IPR holders’ interests. “To us in
China,” he explained, “protecting IPR is
both an international obligation and a
requirement for promoting China’s own
development and enhancing its capacity
for independent innovation.” He left no
doubt as to what must be done: “We
must make sure that steps taken in
China to protect IPR are as hard as
steel.”
Wen described by way of an anecdote
what is necessary to make relations
successful and profitable for both sides.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz had stated
that a bridge for exchanging knowledge
and skills needed to be built. “Today, 300
years later,” Wen said, “China and
Europe are in need all the more of a
bridge of this kind.”