APA Chairman: China's further opening up benefits Europe

Further opening up of the Chinese economy will bring more opportunities and potential for growth to Europe, according to Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA) Hubert Lienhard. China's decision to let markets play a decisive role in allocating resources is "an important step to further open up its economy," Lienhard said in a recent written interview with Xinhua ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Germany, which begins on Friday. "For us, China's further opening up means more sales opportunities and potential for growth in the gigantic and dynamic market." The bilateral trade volume between Germany and China has doubled in the past decade, and the two economies are linked more and more closely, Lienhard said. "So far the trade relations have been complementary but will change over time. There will be more and more intra-industry trade between Germany and China where technological advance is happening," he said. Lienhard also proposed further cooperation between German and Chinese enterprises in the technological field as China is making strides in research and development. "The prosperity and development of trade relations with Asian countries, especially China, is of great significance to Europe -- especially at times of economic crisis," he said. The chairman said both German and Chinese governments have made several efforts to improve their bilateral economic ties. The "China-Germany council of economic advisers" mechanism proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Germany in May last year, for example, is "a very new and important tool," which enabled the two countries to talk to each other directly regarding economic issues, he said. As the head of APA, which represents the interests of German business active in the Asia-Pacific region, Lienhard also voiced his commitment to promoting bilateral trade and investment relations between Germany and China, and said APA was ready to offer help to Chinese investors.