Merkel's visit to boost China relations

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on July 5, beginning her seventh visit to China since taking office.

She is the only European leader to have ever met Chinese leadership so many times, according to an article on Deutsche Welle, a German TV station.

Merkel is accompanied by a high-level business delegation, and business will be a top priority for Merkel's China trip this time, the China Economic Herald reported on Monday.

Germany is China's biggest trading partner in Europe, as well as an important source of capital and technology. Trade between China and Germany reached $161.6 billion in 2013, 580 times than that in 1978, when the two countries established diplomatic relations, according to China Economic Herald.

Half of European Union's export to China is from Germany, while a quarter of China's export to EU goes to Germany. Meanwhile, 40 percent of EU's technology transfers to China are from Germany.

Germany's investment in China accounts for one fourth of EU's total, and has become China's largest European investor since 2003. Currently, about 8,200 German enterprises are operating in China; with their accumulated investment surpassing $20 billion, the report said.

Though a late comer, China's investment in Germany has taken off in recent years. China has poured $4 billion in Germany, investing in more than 100 projects each year. A total of 2,000 Chinese companies are doing business in the European country.

To facilitate bilateral trade and investment, the People's Bank of China signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the Deutsche Bundesbank, to set up a yuan clearing bank in Frankfurt in March. One month after that, Germany's state-owned development bank KfW issued the first yuan bond in Frankfurt.

A survey by German Chamber of Commerce shows that 70 percent of German companies in China are content with China's ongoing reforms, which would actively serve China's future growth and foreign enterprises.

http://www.ecns.cn/business/2014/07-07/122782.shtml