Berlin Partner Organizes China Trip for Berlin Economics Senator Harald Wolf

Berlin Partner Organizes China Trip for Berlin Economics Senator Harald Wolf

November 05, 2007

- Good Perspectives for Sino-Berlin Business Relations

    BERLIN, Nov. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Berlin Mayor and
Senator for Economics, Technology, and Women's Affairs
Harald Wolf will be visiting Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and
Beijing November 7-12, where he'll be meeting and holding
talks with politicians and business representatives.
Senator Wolf says of his trip, "I intend to entrench
existing contacts, and inform Chinese companies about the
opportunities for investment in Berlin. A new airport is
currently being built in Berlin that is an hour's flight
closer to Asia than any other European airport that can be
reached directly by air."

    Berlin is one of only two German cities in the list of
the top 50 foreign investment locations for Chinese
companies compiled by the Chinese Economics Ministry and
the China International Institute of Multinational
Corporations.

    At present there are about 200 Chinese-run firms in
Berlin, and another 20 or so are planning to settle there.
Some 6,000 Chinese live in the German capital city.
Berlin-based companies increased their trade with China by
a factor of six from 1996 to 2006. Over the same period,
imports from China rose more than fivefold.

    In Hong Kong Senator Wolf is due to hold talks with
municipal leaders and visit the science park. In Shenzhen
he will be visiting HYT, a radio device manufacturer. He
will also be attending the Shenzhen-Berlin Economic
Cooperation Forum, where he will present the investment
opportunities in Berlin to representatives from several
hundred Chinese companies. In Beijing the senator will be
visiting the Berlin Olympic Pavilion and find out more
about the Sino-German co-production 'Laura's Star II'
involving Berlin-based animation company Cartoon Film.

    In all three cities he will be talking to airlines
interested in operating direct flights to Berlin. The
construction of the new Berlin-Brandenburg International
Airport (BBI) will create the most modern airport in
Europe. The BBI is due to begin operating in 2011, and is
expected to process an initial 25 million passengers a
year, though it will have the capacity to handle up to 40
million. Given its proximity to Asia vis-a-vis other
European airports, the BBI will be ideal for new direct
connections between the two continents.

    The Berlin delegation's trip was organized by Berlin
Partner GmbH, the company commissioned by the Berlin
government to attract investors, advise local companies on
foreign trade, and market the German capital city.

    Further information about Berlin Partner (in German and
Chinese): http://www.berlin-china.net

    Further information about the investor conference (in
English and Chinese): http://www.shenzhen-berlin.com


    For more information, please contact:

    Berlin Partner GmbH
    Ludwig Erhard Haus
    Fasanenstrasse 85
    D-10623 Berlin
    Website: http://www.berlin-partner.de

    Christoph Lang
    Head, Press and Public Relations
    Tel:    [phone]
    Fax:    [phone]
    Mobile: [phone]
    Email:  [e-mail]