EADS boss Enders: Competition for Airbus and Boeing can only come from China / For more investment in training

Hamburg (ots) - Dr. Thomas Enders, Chief Executive Officer of
aerospace group EADS, speaking in the margins of the European-Chinese
conference "The Hamburg Summit: China meets Europe" at Hamburg
Chamber of Commerce, forecasts that only a Chinese company could be
able to break into the phalanx of North American/European aircraft
constructors in the future. "The entry barriers to building large
commercial aircraft are high but if one country has the financial and
industrial wherewithals to join the exclusive Airbus-Boeing club,
it's China." He announced further investment by EADS in the Chinese
market at the same time: "We want to be part of this incredible
success story, with growing investments into Chinese industry, but
also into citizenship and China's very talented and skilled people."

Dr. Martin Brudermüller, Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive
Directors of BASF, also sees an "ever increasing level of innovation"
in China: "Companies from Europe will have to make greater use of the
possibilities of technological cooperation if they hope to stay
successful", said Brudermüller, who is also Chairman of the China
Committee of APA (Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business).
Brudermüller signalled in his talk that some work is still needed for
strong development of European-Chinese cooperation: "We have to
substantially deepen our mutual trust."

Lu Yaohua, head of the delegation from the "China Federation of
Industrial Economics" (CFIE), pled on the second of three conference
days for even closer solidarity between Europe and China: "Both
economies are in a state of flux and structural change. China and
Europe should help one another to tap potential and complement each
other through our respective strengths." Fritz Horst Melsheimer, host
of the conference as President of Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, also
spoke for intensive collaboration: "I am convinced that China and
Europe will face similar challenges in the coming decades. Both
regions will have to endeavour to achieve sustainable growth and
economic resilience."

The "Hamburg Summit" is organised by Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
every two years and has become the leading European-Chinese business
conference since its inauguration in 2004. Today and tomorrow, more
than 400 high-ranking businesspeople, politicians and scientists from
17 countries will be discussing Sino-European trade relations and
China's role in the global economy. They will also be exchanging
ideas on securing access to raw materials, "smart cities" and Chinese
and European strategies in a multipolar world in various panel
discussions.

Further up-to-date news, background information and image material
for the "Hamburg Summit" are available at www.hamburg-summit.com and
www.twitter.com/HamburgSummit.

Contact:
Dr. Jörn Arfs, Communications Office at Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
T: 040-36138-301, Fax: 040 36138-460, Email: joern.arfs@hk24.de,
www.hk24.de