Governor,
Mr Löscher,
Mr Sindemann,
Ladies and gentlemen,

There are very good reasons why I’ve made Guangdong Province one of the stops on my visit to China this year. The Pearl River Delta has undergone an incredibly profound transformation in recent decades – a transformation, I think it is fair to say, that has been experienced almost nowhere else on earth. Shenzhen offers one of the many examples of this transformation. In the late 1970s the city was home to some 20,000 people; its population has since grown to 15 million. Guangdong Province is one of China’s most important economic hubs.

When we look back on 40 years of diplomatic relations, the starting point of the 1970s enables us to really see just how much has changed. The economic output of Guangdong Province is now roughly comparable with that of the entire country of Indonesia. Almost a third of Chinese exports originate in this province. And about a fifth of direct foreign investment flows to this region.

German business also plays an important role in this development. More than 400 companies from my country have a presence in Guangdong. They have invested more than a billion euro in the region, contributing to the province’s industrial and technological strength and creating a lot of good jobs. Our trade with Guangdong totalled about 23 billion euro in 2010, roughly equivalent to the volume of Germany’s trade with the Republic of Korea. 

Guangdong’ position at the forefront of Chinese reform and liberalization policy as well as the incremental opening of the country makes it a role model. That is why your province also offers a microcosm of the challenges all of China faces. Rapid urbanization has far‑reaching consequences for the environment and for people’s living conditions. That is also why it is such a good thing that these mega-trends are being discussed here at this Economic Forum. The population is growing very quickly. Good transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructure is needed, as is effective closed cycle management. Resources need to be used efficiently. Beyond this – and this too is a sign of greater development – wages are climbing rapidly. This is why productivity also needs to increase, technological skills need to be expanded and products need to move to a higher level of added value. The way your province, Guangdong, is doing these things will later serve as a model for many other provinces in China that will follow your example.

And might I add, as the business people who are also here today as part of my delegation have suggested, that German companies are prepared to support Guangdong in this. We have outstanding technological expertise. We have experience with environmental protection, energy efficiency and modern technology. That is why the region has the potential to become even more of a role model for German-Chinese cooperation. We could build on the excellent cooperation of recent years.

China has become one of Germany’s leading economic partners. Last year our trade reached a volume of 140 billion euro, which sounds even more impressive if I say it in dollars: roughly 180 billion dollars. In the past year, German exports to China have again increased rapidly, growing by about 20 percent to roughly 65 billion euro. This figure has nearly doubled since 2008. According to some projections, China could by the end of this year become our leading export market outside the European Union.

China’s swift economic ascent is, however, greeted with suspicion in some quarters. Let me make very plain to you that I don’t see it that way. On one hand, this change brings with it the opportunity to provide more people a decent income and a decent life. On the other hand, increasing economic output also means more demand from China, which in turn benefits other internationally oriented economies. Germany is pleased at China’s success because we see in it opportunities for us as well as for you; we see a classic win‑win situation. 

As an economically powerful country with a large population, China possesses growing influence in bilateral and international cooperation. Correspondingly, the country is also gaining new responsibilities in the world. When it comes to German-Chinese relations, China’s development is creating an opportunity for our two countries to cooperate even more closely. I have spoken to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao about this today and in the past few days.

We want to intensify our investment relations in both directions. What is important to us is to have reliable framework conditions and level playing field in China – that is, for our German companies to be treated on an equal footing with Chinese companies. This will lead to better cooperation. I’d like to underscore that these are precisely the kinds of opportunities Germany is offering Chinese companies. This is also something I’ve just spoken to the Chinese Prime Minister about in our economic talks.

German companies are therefore prepared to invest here in China. That is why our business delegation includes major companies with big plans for your country – you’ve already mentioned some of these companies. Our delegation also includes medium-sized and family‑run businesses. Today we looked at one example of such a family‑run business and were able to determine that they too were offering very good technical solutions. I think that with China’s further economic success, specialized small and medium-sized enterprises will also develop step by step.

I think China will have an excellent opportunity to present itself in Germany once again this year at the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade fair. China is a partner country there, and will be able to demonstrate its skills and abilities. China and the Chinese companies which are exhibitors there will also have a chance to get to know Germany better. It has always been our experience that everyone grows stronger through competition if the competition is fair – if it’s a competition in which intellectual property is protected and if it’s a competition with reliable legal framework conditions.

Guangdong has always been a trailblazer in its cosmopolitan outlook and should, Governor, also remain so. I think the cooperation between your province and Germany will then become even more intense. I would like to express my thanks to all the German companies who work day in and day out to ensure that this part of the world develops well and at the same time that “Made in Germany” lives up to its reputation. It’s not every day that politicians come to Guangdong, so this is a good opportunity for me to say that we’re proud of what you’re creating here in this region.

I wish you and the Economic Forum all the best and every success. I believe that this Forum is a contribution to making business ties between Germany and China even closer, to building trust even further, and I believe that together we can learn something – and gain something – from it.

Thank you very much.