Friday,December 05,2008 Posted: 00:20 BJT(1620 GMT) COMMERCIAL COUNSELLOR
On the 3rd of December 2008, the Economic and Commercial Counsellor Mr. Wu Mingxin hosted the New Year Reception for Dutch business community. Here follows the speech given by Mr. Wu at the reception.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Good evening.
At the moment of the coming of the new year, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you tonight to the reception. First of all, on behalf of the Economic and Commercial Counselor’s office, I would like to express warm welcome to all of you. We are very honored to have Dutch colleagues from government departments and research institutions, and to have friends from business community. We are glad to see our old friends, and to meet with new friends. I would like to thank you for your personal contribution to the progress of Sino-Dutch economic and trade cooperation.
In 2008 China has coped with severe challenges of major natural disasters. Snow and ice storms plagued southern China early this year. On the 12th of May, Wenchuan was rocked by an 8-magnitude earthquake. These disasters brought huge losses to life and economy. People’s lives outweigh everything else. The fast response and timely disaster-relief efforts by Chinese government have gained praise from international community. The resolution and impregnability of Chinese people have left the world deep impression.
In 2008, China has also embraced glory and confidence. The 29th Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics made the dream of peace and friendship come true, while Shenzhou 7 marked a milestone in China’s manned space programme and encouraged Chinese people to build a better future.
On this occasion, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to our Dutch friends who gave earthquake victims a helping hand. It is your affection that brings the hearts of our two people even closer. Thank you very much.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am sure that you are quite concerned about Chinese economy in times of the financial crisis. I would like to brief you on this topic.
Being aware that the steady and relatively rapid development in China’s economy itself is an important contribution to safeguarding international financial stability and promoting world economic development, Chinese government has actively coped with complicated changes in the international economy and the severe challenges of natural disasters and has strengthened macro-regulation. Chinese economy has maintained a relatively rapid growth.
From January to September, China’s GDP grew by 9.9% compared with the corresponding period last year. Investment, consumption and export have kept an increase of over 20% separately, with total investment in fixed assets by 27%, retail sales of consumer goods by 22%, and exports by 22.3%. Consumer Price rose by 7%, which was nearly 1% lower than that of the first half of this year. 9 million new jobs were created, and it is predicted that 11 million jobs will be provided for the whole year. During the same period, average income went up by 9%, with 7.5% for urban residents and 11% for rural people.
However, since September, with the expansion and spreading of the financial crisis, difficulties have become more and more evident. Growth of export has slowed down, production and profit have also been affected to different degrees.
In order to boost the economy, Chinese government has decided to follow a proactive fiscal policy and a moderately relaxed monetary policy. A package of measures have been adopted, including lowering the required reserve ratio, cutting the deposit and lending rates, and easing the corporate tax burdens. Recently, a series of stimulus policies have also been introduced to expand domestic demand. China has decided to invest another 100 billion RMB to boost social welfare, infrastructure, environmental protection and rebuilding work of quake-hit area. It is estimated that the total investment will reach 400 billion RMB. From October till the end of 2010, China will invest 4 trillion RMB in total. All the above mentioned measures will definitely push forward Chinese economy and will in turn play a positive role in promoting world economy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Year 2008 also witnesses the progress of bilateral relationship between China and the Netherlands. In August, Pime Minister Balkenende attended the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games. In October, after attending the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting in Beijing, Prime Minister Balkenende paid his official visit to China, holding meetings and talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice President Xi Jinpin. Leaders from both countries spoke highly of the bilateral relationship, esp of the economic and trade ties. While keeping good cooperation in trade and agriculture, our two countries will explore the potentials in energy-saving, environmental protection, as well as risk-management and financial supervision. Next week, Dutch State Secretary for Eonomic Affairs Mr. Heemskerk, bringing a trade delegation with him, will go to China to co-chair the 14th session of bilateral Joint Economic Committee meeting. We all look forward to the success of the meeting.
Thanks to the attention and promotion by both governments, Sino-Dutch economic and trade cooperation has kept a stable pace. According to Chinese statistics, from January to October, bilateral trade volume has reached 43.09 billion USD, with a growth of 17%. Chinese import grew by 16.3%,while Chinese export by 17%.Therefore, it is estimated that the volume will exceed 52 billion USD for the whole year, which will reach a record high in history. The Netherlands maintains the 2nd trading partner within EU for China.
Besides, two-way investments have also achieved progress. Positioned as the third biggest EU investor to China, Dutch investment has accumulated to about 9.1 billion USD. Chinese investment is also on rise. China Hotel Holland and Euromax Container Terminal in Port of Rotterdam have already set up good examples for Chinese investors. High-tech companies like Huawei Technologies and Hisense have also established distribution center or R&D center in the Netherlands. Companies from Hunan, Hebei and Chongqing have also made increasing presence here. Chinese companies are working closely with their Dutch partners in the fields of trade, finance, science and technology, agriculture, petrochemical, logistics, environment protection, urban planning, energy saving construction and renewable energy.
All the achievements are attributed to the efforts of everyone present here tonight. In the coming year, in the face of new challenges, we sincerely look forward to having closer cooperation with you to achieve further progress in our economic cooperation.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
Christmas and New Year’s Day are just around the corner. On this occasion, I’d like to wish you all the best for Christmas and New Year. Wish you greater achievements in the coming year. May joy be with you and your family.
Thank you very much.
Cheers.
