Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    By Xinhua writers Wu Liming and Ban Wei

    BERLIN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Despite the severe economic downturn, Germany, the world's biggest exporter since 2003, could still retain the title of export champion in 2009, a business leader said here on Tuesday.

    German exports could slump by as much as 15 percent this year due to the global economic crisis, but it will still be the top exporter, Anton F. Boerner, president of the BGA Association of German Exporters, Wholesalers and Services, told Xinhua.

    Germany has been the world's leading exporter from 2003 to 2008. In 2008, its trade surplus stood at 176.2 billion euros (around 238 billion U.S. dollars).

    China and Japan, currently ranked second on the export list, will both see drops this year because of the crisis, Boerner told Xinhua in an interview following a press conference by the BGA.

    BGA forecast that the gross domestic product (GDP) of Germany will shrink by 3.5 percent to 4 percent this year, while its exports could fall up to 15 percent.

    "We are in a crisis of confidence, which stems from financial markets. We must find countermeasures," Boerner said, noting that "the key to solving the crisis lies in reviving the global financial markets."

    "We are looking forward to the G20 summit in London when the German Federal Government and the G20 group as a whole could find solutions to rebuild confidence," Boerner said.

    He said only by doing so can the German economy recover and achieve better economic data this year.

    On trade relations with China, Boerner said Germany and China had long close ties and the volume of trade saw double digit increase last year.

    Germany is China's biggest trading partner within the European Union (EU). In 2008, Sino-German trade hit 115 billion dollars, accounting for 27 percent of Sino-EU trade.

    "A lot of German enterprises have invested in China, and many Chinese business people have invested in Germany, which we clearly welcome," Boerner said.

    He said both China and Germany are capable of overcoming the global economic crisis.

    "I believe both countries are ready to resolve and overcome the crisis. I'm confident that we will become stronger after the crisis," he said.

    Boerner also spoke highly of China's stimulus policies, noting that Germany could also benefit from the incentives.

    "We are investors. If the Chinese government expands its infrastructure construction, of course we will benefit from it," he said.

    "We also purchase quite a lot of goods from China, we can say that China has exerted every effort to improve the quality of its products. I believe bilateral relations between Germany and China will see smooth development," Boerner said.