Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming
(L) shakes hands with Swiss Economy Minister Doris Leuthard at a press
conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Feb. 26, 2009. Chen and Leuthard
attended here on Thursday the Sino-Swiss Economic and Trade Forum with the
aim of intensifying relations between Swiss and Chinese companies.
(Xinhua/Shang Jun) Photo Gallery>>>
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese
business delegation inked trade deals worth more than 300 million U.S. dollars
with Swiss companies on Thursday, ending the second leg of their four-state
procurement tour in Europe.
The agreements covered products ranging from software
to electric equipments and metals, which meet China's domestic needs, according
to Chinese trade officials.
Among those agreements, Switzerland's ABB, a global
leader in power and automation technologies, signed a letter of intent for the
supply of generator circuit breakers to China Nuclear Power Engineering Company.
Switzerland's Glencore, one of the world's largest
suppliers of a wide range of commodities and raw materials to industrial
consumers, also signed a deal with Chinalco, the world's second largest alumina
producer and the third largest primary aluminum producer.
Holcim, one of the world's leading suppliers of
cement and aggregates based in Switzerland, deepened its partnership with
China's Huaxin Cement Company (HCC). They signed a frame agreement for technical
service, technology and new equipment supplies covering the next two years.
Holcim is already the single largest shareholder in
HCC, holding a stake of 39.9 percent of the Chinese firm.
"HCC with Holcim's support will continue to
strengthen and extend its leading role as a modern cement producer in China,"
the two companies said in a statement.
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming
(L) shakes hands with Swiss Economy Minister Doris Leuthard, after signing
a memorandum on the intensification of technical cooperation in the field
of environmental technology, in Zurich, Switzerland, Feb. 26, 2009. Chen
and Leuthard attended here on Thursday the Sino-Swiss Economic and Trade
Forum with the aim of intensifying relations between Swiss and Chinese
companies.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming, who led the
delegation, said that besides this team, there will be more Chinese business
delegations coming to Switzerland for trade and investment opportunities.
Swiss Economy Minister Doris Leuthard revealed that a
Swiss business group will also go to China within the year.
Both ministers witnessed the deal-signing ceremony
and opened an economic and trade forum with the aim of intensifying relations
between Swiss and Chinese companies.
Addressing the forum, Chen said that cooperation is
the effective way to tackle the international financial crisis which posed great
challenge to world economy.
Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming
(L) and Swiss Economy Minister Doris Leuthard attend a press conference in
Zurich, Switzerland, Feb. 26, 2009. Chen and Leuthard attended here on
Thursday the Sino-Swiss Economic and Trade Forum with the aim of
intensifying relations between Swiss and Chinese companies. (Xinhua/Shang
Jun) Photo
Gallery>>>
"Past experience shows that in time of crisis it is
all the more important to adhere to a policy of openness and cooperation," he
said. "Protectionism will not revive the economy. Rather, it will exacerbate the
recession."
"This trade and investment promotion delegation to
Europe is a clear indication of China's opposition to protectionism and its
readiness to work together with Europe in tiding over the crisis," he added.
Highlighting China and Switzerland are important
economic and trade partners to each other, Chen said the two economies are
highly complementary.
China is highly competitive in labor-intensive
products, such as garments, jewelry, footwear and containers, offering budget
choice to Swiss consumers, while Switzerland boasts a distinct competitive edge
in watches, medicines, measuring instruments and precision machinery.
In 2008, bilateral trade between China and
Switzerland reached 11.25 billion U.S. dollars, increasing 19.2 percent despite
the economic downturn. China is now Switzerland's second largest trading partner
in Asia.
Leuthard said that the visit by the Chinese
delegation sent a strong signal that China and Switzerland remain committed to
open markets and against protectionism.
She said the agreements between Swiss and Chinese
companies are "good news to our businesses."
"They signed contracts which will safeguard jobs and
strengthen the cooperation between Swiss and Chinese companies in different
fields in our economy," she said.
Earlier today, Leuthard and Chen signed a memorandum
on the intensification of technical cooperation in the field of environmental
technology.
"Switzerland and China will cooperate more strongly
to ensure that economic growth can be shaped in a more sustainable and
environmentally-sound manner," the Swiss government said.
To this end, a joint working group is to be
established to examine the potential for cooperation in the areas of technology
transfer, energy efficiency, renewable energies and the efficient use of
resources. The group will submit proposals on the shape of this cooperation.
Switzerland is the second stop of the Chinese
business delegation's European tour. On Wednesday, they signed 37 procurement
deals worth about 11 billion euros (14 billion U.S. dollars) with local firms in
Germany.
In an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday, Chen
expected purchase deals with Switzerland would be modest compared with Germany
due to the gap in the two countries' economic scales.
The delegation will arrive in Madrid, Spain later
today and then London, the last stop. Chen said the deals to be signed there
could be a more than in Switzerland.
