EU Trade commissioner Peter Mandelson on Thursday called for
further cooperation between Chinese and European small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), saying it will make both China and
EU stronger.
Mandelson made the remarks in his speech delivered at the
opening ceremony of the two-day EU-China Partenariat 2006 in
Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
SMEs account for, respectively, 99 percent and 75 percent of the
total number of firms in EU countries and China, and will play a
vital role in future trade between China and European countries, he
added.
He expressed a keen interest in securing greater access to the
Chinese market for the EU's financial-service providers and
SMEs.
Wan Jifei, Chairman of China International Trade Promotion
Committee, said good communication channels are essential to
establishing and developing economic relations between Europe and
China. Trade fairs will further help China and EU promote business
and market growth.
"SMEs are one of the principal driving forces in economic
development due to their flexibility and creativity," he said,
urging firms to strengthen cooperation in the sectors of
high-technology, energy and environment protection.
Chinese companies should attend international trade fairs to
meet overseas firms and get into international markets, said
Giorgio Magistrelli, secretary general of the EU Chamber of
Commerce in China.
Trade fairs are a platform for information exchange and
dialogue, and an opportunity for Chinese SMEs to find European
partners and enter the European market, he added.
The EU-China Partenariat 2006 is the largest event in the
history of Sino-EU economic cooperation. Five hundred and fourteen
Chinese companies and more than 400 European companies are taking
part.
During the two-day event, nearly 1,000 SMEs will carry out a
total of 5,000 "speed-dating dialogues" to find common ground for
working together.
The trade fair is jointly sponsored by the European Commission,
the China Council for Promotion of International Trade, and the
Sichuan provincial government.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2006)