German engineering machine & technology import exhibition held in Shanghai

German engineering machine & technology import exhibition held in Shanghai

2008-11-27 12:54 Article source: Information Office, Ministry of Commerce

Sponsored by Chinese Commerce Ministry and Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology of Germany, the four-day “German Engineering Machine & Technology Import Exhibition” and “2008 China International Engineering Machine, Building Material Machine, Engineering Vehicle and Equipment Expo” were inaugurated in Shanghai on November 25.

Chinese assistant commerce minister Wang Chao attended the inauguration ceremony and Sino-German Engineering Machine Technology & Application Executive Seminar. In his addressing speech, Wang said the current financial crisis greatly threatened the prosperity and stability of the world economy. Many developing countries had met difficulty in their economy, some developed countries stood on the verge of economic recession, and the international market presented drastically reduced demands. In face of the pressures, the Chinese government considered the situation, duly raised ten measures to expand domestic demands so as to accelerate economic growth. It gave priority to construction of people’s livelihood associated projects, infrastructures and ecological environment projects. These major moves furnished precious development opportunities and dynamics for the Chinese and world engineering machine industry.

Wang Chao pointed out the technology intensive engineering machine sector played an important role in Sin-German high-tech cooperation. To date, Germany was the European country that China introduced the largest amount of technologies. It was China’s third largest technology sources worldwide, after the United States and Japan. By the end of September 2008, China approved contracts to introduce 42.8 billion U.S. dollars worth technologies from Germany. In the first nine months of 2008, nearly one half of the 2,000 technological import projects with EU came from Germany. Thanks to China’s booming economic development and launch of major projects, China and Germany achieved admirable results in trade and technological cooperation in the engineering machine field. China has developed into one of the major export destination markets of German engineering machines. According to Chinese statistics, engineering machine bilateral trade between China and Germany amounted to 940 million U.S. dollars in 2007, up 16% over the previous year. Among them, China imported 680 million U.S. dollar worth engineering machines from Germany, next only to Japan. Meanwhile, China exported 260 million U.S. dollars worth engineering machines to Germany. In the first nine months of 2008, the bilateral trade in the engineering machine sector reached 900 million U.S. dollars between the two countries, up 30.8% year on year.

Wang Chao said China and Germany are highly complementary in engineering machine manufacturing and technological cooperation, projecting vast cooperation potentials. China welcomed German enterprises to expand export of high-tech products to China and continually intensify cooperation with Chinese parties. This would contribute to optimizing trade structures and quality between the two countries.

Engineering machines reportedly play a significant role in China’s drive of modernization, urbanization and industrialization. Over the past three decades of reform and opening up, the Chinese economy maintained sustaining and fast growth, which vigorously promoted rapid development of the engineering machine market and industry. In 2007, Chinese engineering machine market was valued more than 30 billion U.S. dollars, with nearly 5 billion U.S. dollars share from import. China’s engineering machine industry has cultivated comparatively integral industrial system, product series, and some brand enterprises with international competitiveness. In 2007, China exported 8.7 billion U.S. dollars worth engineering machines. Thanks to technological introduction and independent innovation, Chinese enterprises as represented by Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, Liuzhou Construction Machinery Co, Shantui Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Zoomlion, Sany Heavy Industry and Hunan Shanhe intellectual machinery Inc. have pushed their engineering machines into the international market.

Machine building is one of the most competitive traditional sectors and most important industrial sectors in Germany. Their products and technologies have been leading the world. With their high technologies, quality and energy conservation and environment friendly features, German engineering machines represent the highest levels across the world in machine manufacturing. Liebherr, Wirtgen, Bauer and Herrenknecht, hailed for their quality products and technologies, have set up joint ventures or solely invested enterprises in China.

Holding German Engineering Machine & Technology Import Exhibition was an important step for the Chinese and German governments to promote economic communication and exchanges and balanced development of trade between the two countries. It was also a significant move in the economic and trade relations between the two countries in 2008. Sponsored by China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Machinery & Electronic Products, the exhibition was highly supported by VDMAand Munich International Trade Fairs Pte. Ltd. More than 130 German engineering machine manufacturers and hundreds of Chinese professional buyers made exchanges at the exhibition, laying a solid foundation to expand cooperation between the two parties.

Schaurte, State Secretary ofFederal Ministry of Economics and Technology of Germany also attended the inauguration ceremony and other activities in the day.

（First released by website of Special Commissioner’s Office in Hangzhou, Ministry of Commerce）