Guangdong and Bremen form links
GUANGDONG province and the German state of Bremen are expected to sign a treaty of friendship and agreements on economic co-operation in November.
Bremen's mayor Klaus Wedemeier and representatives of Bremen business will travel to Guangdong to formalise the agreements.
Vice-president of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce Bernd Hockemeyer said the proposal presented Bremen with the opportunity to offer ''know-how and technology for the Chinese transport and seaport sector''.
He was speaking during a visit by delegates from Guangdong province on a recent four-day visit to Bremen.
Guangdong has become one of the most prosperous areas of China since the country's economic reforms came into effect. Three of the mainland's five special economic zones are located in Guangdong.
Contacts between Bremen and the province began last November when a delegation from the Bremen Chamber of Commerce met with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Guangdong.
The two parties then signed an agreement to promote long-term business relations between Bremen and the southern Chinese economic region.
Bremen businessmen are interested in Guangdong, which has almost 5000 kilometres of coastline, as the southernmost point of entry to China and its immense markets, particularly for trade and transport.
During the visit, the Guangdong delegation visited Bremerhaven's container terminal and was impressed by its size and efficient operation.
Mr Hockemeyer said Bremen hoped to serve as ''the gateway to western and eastern Europe'' for Guangdong and the Chinese export industry.
The leader of the Chinese business delegation in Bremen and chairman of CCPIT, Xu Dezhi, was pleased with the results of the co-operation between Bremen and Guangdong so far.
He said both sides showed ''a growing interest in deepening economic relations''.
Meanwhile, in the ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven, Port and Transport Consulting Bremen (PTC), which operates as a consulting enterprise for the ports of Bremen, plays a leading role in transferring expertise and know-how.
These activities are carried out by experts with first-rate training and education and years of practical and applied experience in Bremen ports as well as in ports of other countries and in other transport infrastructure areas.
Experience in international organisations in the fields of transport, shipping and ports is a part of this.
PTC is a subsidiary of the Bremen Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft (BLG), the operator of the free ports in Bremen and Bremerhaven.
Indonesia is an example of the many consulting projects of these port experts in developing nations of Asia, Latin America or the Arabian countries.
The opening of Eastern Europe also has resulted in the demand for Bremen know-how, particularly in Poland, Czechoslovakia and the former Soviet Union, including the Baltic states.
PTC also has a long history of working with the industry in the federal states of what was formerly West Germany.
