"Hamburg Summit": President of the Chamber of Commerce Calls for Better Access to the Chinese Market / Plea for the removal of trade barriers at the opening of the conference

Hamburg (ots) - At the opening of the sixth "Hamburg Summit: China
meets Europe", to be held at the Chamber of Commerce on October 10 &
11, 2014, the President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, Fritz
Horst Melsheimer, called for free trade to be strengthened and
protectionism to be dismantled. Melsheimer said that challenges such
as the fight against climate change, achieving sustainable growth and
creating stable economic conditions and a global economic order can
no longercannot be tackled by China or Europe alone: "We will not
solve these problems if we create additional barriers to trade. We
need more trade with China, not less," Melsheimer stated in his
opening speech to over 600 conference participants. China, as
Melsheimer continued, is on its way to catching up with the most
important global economic powers, assuming that the current dynamic
remains the same. Hamburg is China's leading centre in Europe with
over 500 Chinese companies. Around one-third of the container
throughput in the port of Hamburg is with the People's Republic of
China.

In his speech, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel addressed
the issue of Chinese direct investment in Europe and stressed in
particular that collaboration, complementarity and commitment are the
pillars of European-Chinese relations, which stand to benefit both
sides. "Our respective growth strategies are mutually supportive and
we have a common interest in each other's success. This is and should
be seen as a win-win relationship. We have a stake in China's future
and China has also a stake in Europe's future." He also emphasised
that Luxembourg is the gateway to Europe for many Chinese investors.

In addition to Chinese investment in Europe, the main focus on the
first day of the conference was Chinese economic reforms. Professor
Sebastian Heilmann, Director President of the Mercator Institute for
China Studies (MERICS), sees implementing the reforms of the 3rd
plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
China as the responsibility of the Chinese government. "Key elements
of the reform programme's implementation have been a long time
coming. China's domestic economy is currently undergoing a very
sensitive phase. The government in Peking is therefore reluctant to
commence with the announced restructuring. The promotion of
competition and improvements in market access are, if at all, only
making progress in selected branches under these conditions. Foreign
companies should not harbour any unrealistic hopes here," said
Heilmann.

Additional current press releases, background information on and
images from the "Hamburg Summit: China meets Europe" 2014 are
available at http://www.hamburg-summit.com and at
http://www.twitter.com/HamburgSummit.

Contact:
HAMBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Dr Jörn Arfs, Communications Department, Hamburg Chamber of Commerce,
Tel.: +49(0)40-36138-301, fax: +49(0)40-36138-460, e-mail:
joern.arfs@hk24.de, http://www.hk24.de