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18.04.2005
19:27 Uhr
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The Sleeping Dragon Awakes China is not a force to contend with. It is primed to become the force to contend with. Trilateral economic relations between China, the EU, and the US dicussed. double again in 2020. Industrialisation and urbanisation are surging forward. But how long can the Chinese economy continue to grow at this rate? Rongmin stated that "a scientific outlook of development" is one of the most overused phrases in China. Public debate persistently focuses on how to balance this staggering growth. As Rongmin puts it, economic growth is not everything, sustainable growth is necessary and the two must be harmonious. 1979 marked the beginning of China US diplomatic relations, but it's still a country just beginning to open itself up to the rest of the world. The US is China's 2nd largest trading partner. Many US companies are setting up in China and many Chinese companies are branching out into the US. The EU is now China's largest trading partner and an important source of investment.
percent tariff on Chinese imports if China does not revalue its currency within 180 days). Rongmin emphasised steps China is making towards its WTO compliance commitment, which include: clearing up and revising laws and regulations, significantly reducing tariffs, fulfilling the commitments in opening service trade according to schedule, and strengthening protection of intellectual property rights. This was clearly to demonstrate that China is making efforts on its side to integrate into the world economy through economic reform, something the EU and the US would like to see.
Social reform is also an issue as regards EU-US-China relations. When the floor was opened up for questions, the first one posed was on nuclear power. Rongmin showed classic diplomatic ability by carefully answering that "China had expanding needs to supply energy to the whole country" rather than commenting specifically on the nuclear debate. After saying that China was the 3rd largest consumer of cars, Rongmin answered a question concerning the replacement of crude oils by saying that China will co-operate more with industries to bring in advanced technologies
and research alternative fuel sources. Questioned on the social justification of China's "one child" policy, Rongmin countered that China's population grows so fast, in a span of 10 days they have "another Luxembourg". The impact to China of this economic growth is huge. Finding a balance between growth and natural and human needs is going to be tricky. But what about the impact on the world economy? It's too soon to say what the trilateral economic balance will be between the EU, US and the wide awake dragon. â– Mary Carey
H.E. Mr. Sun Rongmin: “A scientific outlook of development.�
Need to find a balance Rongmin stated there are strong economic complementarities between China and the US but the relationship is not without friction. Problems have arisen, such as antidumping issues on the China side, and RMB exchange rates to the US and the EU (The US Senate passed a bill on April 6, saying it would slap a 27.5
Photo: David Laurent (Blitz)
AN UNUSUALLY LARGE crowd attended the ABAL Chinalux luncheon to hear H.E. Mr. Sun Rongmin, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Luxembourg, speak on the relationship (political and economic) between China, the EU and the US and business opportunities between the three. The Ambassador is sharply intelligent and managed, though aided by a translator, to demonstrate immense charm and a sharp sense of humour. His speech focused on the accelerated growth of China's economy and the impact that will have on the Chinese people. One of the pillars of China's growth is consumption. With a population of 1.3 billion, China had 100 million fixed telephone lines in 1999, 200 million in 2002, and 310 million in 2004. With that kind of growth one can only imagine the potential figures for mobile telephony. Yet there is still so much more room for growth. Rongmin has a flair for demonstrating statistics with tangible examples. For example, in terms of investment, Rongmin said that infrastructure is still rather weak. He spoke about the development and size of railways in China, yet when taken as a per capita statistic, the ratio would be one Chinese person per cigarette length size of railway. China's economy is expected to double in 2010, and then
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