Home » Supplement » Germany
Moving onward and upward
October 3, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
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IN the office of Dr Wolfgang Roehr, consul general of Germany to Shanghai, hangs a black-and-white photo that records how the consulate office was established in 1982.
Germany established diplomatic relations with China in 1972 and, 10 years later, founded a consulate general in Shanghai.
As a result, German companies and citizens have contributed and achieved greatly, particularly in the Yangtze River Delta area that the consulate general office covers.
Today, around 12,000 Germans are estimated to live in this area, with up to 10,000 in Shanghai, the most Germans in any city in East Asia. The German School in Shanghai, with some 1,200 students, also stands as the largest German school in the world, outside Germany, that offers a German curriculum.
The increasing size of the German expatriate community also requires it to have 28 Lufthansa flights weekly between Shanghai and German cities, with another four to Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.
Roehr cordially invites all Germans to celebrate German National Day today, and it will also be celebrated in Shanghai on October 10 with an evening function.
He expects to see more than 1,500 guests at the event.
Roehr says Germans here have achieved a great deal in China and particularly in the Yangtze River Delta area and he has plenty of ideas for cooperation in the future.
Coinciding with the German community's rising population, the size of bilateral business and investment has also been increasing. Trade between Yangtze River Delta and Germany grew 40 percent in 2010.
Imports from Germany to China grew 25.2 percent in the first half of this year and reached 31.6 billion euros (US$42.8 billion), while exports from China to Germany grew 9.1 percent to 37.7 billion euros.
The accumulated German direct investment in China reached US$17.2 billion by the end of last year, increasing 5.5 percent compared with 2009. Chinese investment in Germany by April of 2011 reached US$1.32 billion.
The German Trade Chamber in Shanghai, the Delegation of German Trade and Industry in Shanghai and the German Center in Shanghai are all the largest such offices worldwide.
The chamber has 1,876 members in China, with 1,239 in Shanghai. Roehr estimates the total number of German companies in the Yangtze River Delta to be around 3,000. The number is still rising as 50 new members joined the chamber in the first five months of this year.
Roehr is pleased to see the increasing number of German companies.
"This is a promising market and German companies make good money here even though there are still some limitations," he tells Shanghai Daily.
"And they set a good example for Chinese companies to learn from, especially in terms of quality manufacturing and corporate social responsibility."
On the other hand, the consul general also warmly welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in Germany and asks that Chinese companies "adapt to local circumstances and local markets just like German companies did in China."
"Germany has quite a few advantages in terms of having Chinese companies to invest. First of all, we have a very stable labor market, which means we have hardly any strikes. We also have an excellent logistical environment which gets your products nearly everywhere, so many Chinese companies make Germany their European center," he says.
"In addition, we provide extremely well-trained staff in all levels, not only the world famous German engineers, but also highly skilled German workers which are hard to find in other countries."
As the two nations enter the 39th anniversary year of the establishment of diplomatic relations, another high point in bilateral relations was established last year.
The two nations held government consultations for the first time, with a delegation of Chinese ministers led by Premier Wen Jiabao visiting Germany.
"Good political relations are certainly an important pillar for further economic collaboration in the future. And other important pillars involve putting more fair regulations into the market. I do hope that some difficulties German companies have here will decrease."
Roehr points particularly to intellectual property rights, saying that many German companies complain about how Chinese competitors copy their products. He also hopes that limitations in some areas such as banking and construction will loosen for foreign competition.
Germany established diplomatic relations with China in 1972 and, 10 years later, founded a consulate general in Shanghai.
As a result, German companies and citizens have contributed and achieved greatly, particularly in the Yangtze River Delta area that the consulate general office covers.
Today, around 12,000 Germans are estimated to live in this area, with up to 10,000 in Shanghai, the most Germans in any city in East Asia. The German School in Shanghai, with some 1,200 students, also stands as the largest German school in the world, outside Germany, that offers a German curriculum.
The increasing size of the German expatriate community also requires it to have 28 Lufthansa flights weekly between Shanghai and German cities, with another four to Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.
Roehr cordially invites all Germans to celebrate German National Day today, and it will also be celebrated in Shanghai on October 10 with an evening function.
He expects to see more than 1,500 guests at the event.
Roehr says Germans here have achieved a great deal in China and particularly in the Yangtze River Delta area and he has plenty of ideas for cooperation in the future.
Coinciding with the German community's rising population, the size of bilateral business and investment has also been increasing. Trade between Yangtze River Delta and Germany grew 40 percent in 2010.
Imports from Germany to China grew 25.2 percent in the first half of this year and reached 31.6 billion euros (US$42.8 billion), while exports from China to Germany grew 9.1 percent to 37.7 billion euros.
The accumulated German direct investment in China reached US$17.2 billion by the end of last year, increasing 5.5 percent compared with 2009. Chinese investment in Germany by April of 2011 reached US$1.32 billion.
The German Trade Chamber in Shanghai, the Delegation of German Trade and Industry in Shanghai and the German Center in Shanghai are all the largest such offices worldwide.
The chamber has 1,876 members in China, with 1,239 in Shanghai. Roehr estimates the total number of German companies in the Yangtze River Delta to be around 3,000. The number is still rising as 50 new members joined the chamber in the first five months of this year.
Roehr is pleased to see the increasing number of German companies.
"This is a promising market and German companies make good money here even though there are still some limitations," he tells Shanghai Daily.
"And they set a good example for Chinese companies to learn from, especially in terms of quality manufacturing and corporate social responsibility."
On the other hand, the consul general also warmly welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in Germany and asks that Chinese companies "adapt to local circumstances and local markets just like German companies did in China."
"Germany has quite a few advantages in terms of having Chinese companies to invest. First of all, we have a very stable labor market, which means we have hardly any strikes. We also have an excellent logistical environment which gets your products nearly everywhere, so many Chinese companies make Germany their European center," he says.
"In addition, we provide extremely well-trained staff in all levels, not only the world famous German engineers, but also highly skilled German workers which are hard to find in other countries."
As the two nations enter the 39th anniversary year of the establishment of diplomatic relations, another high point in bilateral relations was established last year.
The two nations held government consultations for the first time, with a delegation of Chinese ministers led by Premier Wen Jiabao visiting Germany.
"Good political relations are certainly an important pillar for further economic collaboration in the future. And other important pillars involve putting more fair regulations into the market. I do hope that some difficulties German companies have here will decrease."
Roehr points particularly to intellectual property rights, saying that many German companies complain about how Chinese competitors copy their products. He also hopes that limitations in some areas such as banking and construction will loosen for foreign competition.
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