Hamburg Hosts China Time Festival

"Hamburg Summit - China meets Europe" is the official name of an event which first took place in 2004. It's not the sort of summit which results in directives and decrees -- it's more about encouraging lines of communication with discussions, seminars and workshops centered around topical issues.

The event kicks off Wednesday with the opening of an exhibition of contemporary Chinese art in the 'Galerie der Gegenwart' entitled "Mahjong." This will be followed by the "Night of Harmony," a parade featuring plenty of Chinese lanterns, dragons and fireworks.

Platform for corporate and political leaders

Then it's down to business. Setting the tone of the conference will be former chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl, who will be joined by Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, as the conference's honorary presidents.

Further invitees include Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and vice mayor of Shanghai Yang Xiong, accompanied by an 80-strong entourage. With this sort of line-up, Karl-Joachim Dreyer from Hamburg's Chamber of Commerce feels it's not inappropriate to describe the event as a more modest version of the annual summits in Davos, Switzerland.

"We want to become a brand," he said. "A 'small-scale Davos' is a description that more or less captures the atmosphere we're after. We're hoping this second conference will consolidate the event. The participants and the very high-ranking delegation from China serve as evidence that we have Chinese interests that deserve to be recognized across Europe."

Hamburg's ties to China are indeed unparalleled on the Continent, largely due to the city's prime water-side location. Hamburg was China's gateway to Europe, and the first ship docked in Hamburg's harbor exactly 275 years ago. In 1929, Germany's first ever Chinese association was founded in the Hanseatic city, and now, Hamburg is home to over 400 Chinese companies -- the greatest such density in any city in Europe.

A flourishing friendship

The affinity was formalized when Hamburg was twinned with Shanghai twenty years ago.

"The fact the two cities are twinned is a partnership both parties fully embrace," said Karl-Joachim Dreyer. "It's by no means purely a business relationship, it's also based on cultural and economic exchange, it's scientific and athletic -- it's most probably the most intense of Hamburg's relationships with its seven twinned cities."

China is Europe's second most important trading partner and its booming economy is currently seen as a promising opportunity for the EU.

But amid all the goodwill and bonhomie expected over the next few days, no one will be shying away from thorny issues.

"Clearly one has to bear in mind that opportunities are also fraught with risks," stressed Dreyer. "We cannot ignore the environmental effects of rapid growth, and this issue will be addressed at the summit, as well as the issue of raw materials and energy. Another topic will be logistics and transport. These are all structural questions that go hand in hand with tiger economies," he said. "We want to find out if China can manage these developments and howl its growth affect will world trade? These are subjects we take very seriously, and we definitely won't be brushing them under the carpet."

Nonetheless, certain pressing matters are conspicuously absent from the agenda -- including trade protectionism and intellectual copyright.