Keynote Speeches at Annual General Meeting 2009.

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Danish Government Ready to Improve Conditions for Danish Businesses in China
Danish Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, used his first official meeting with the Danish business community to emphasize the government’s wish to further extend cooperation with China. “China has become our most important commercial partner outside Europe,” he stated. The prime minister underlined the key role of the Strategic Partnership between China and Denmark, agreed on in October 2008. This, he argued, provides a strong foundation for strengthening the bilateral relations.

He urged Danish businesses to make use of their strong know-how in order to acquire a solid foothold on the Chinese market. Denmark’s good reputation in matters of energy efficiency and green technologies in particular should lay the basis for further export. “Those who invest in green technology today, will be the winners of tomorrow. There is a potential for future growth, employment and wealth within the market for green technology. And we should not hesitate to use this opportunity,” he noticed.  

With his appearance at Danish-Chinese Business Forum’s Annual General Meeting the prime minister illustrated the Danish government’s readiness to assist the Danish business community in China. At the same time, he acknowledged Danish-Chinese Business Forum’s commitment to enhance the foundation for a strong Danish business development in China. 

The Financial Crisis Means Opportunities
The Chinese Ambassador to Denmark, Mr. Xie Hangsheng, was optimistic about the recent development of Chinese economy. Talking about the Chinese word for crisis, “weiji” - a compound of the words “danger” and “opportunity” - the ambassador underlined strong potentials for bypassing economic turbulence through coordinated efforts between Denmark and China.

In his report on the present economic situation in China, he brought attention to the many positive signals. First of all, the Chinese financial sector has suffered no direct hit and the banks in China remain stable and healthy, a strong contrast to banks in the rest of the world. This advantage has facilitated a quick and forceful response to the crisis. An action that is already paying off, he argued, referring to the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s “better than expected” comment from April 2009.

The ambassador recognized the valuable effort of Danish-Chinese Business Forum in making new contributions to the promotion of a mutually beneficial cooperation among Danish and Chinese businesses and authorities. He pointed out the Chinese embassy as Danish-Chinese Business Forum’s close partner now as well as in the future, with a mutual goal of further expanding economic cooperation and provide better services to both Danish and Chinese businesses.

Building Successful Cooperation
Danish-Chinese Business Forum’s Chairman Nils Foss was pleased with the positive trends from  Chinese economy. He drew attention to the recent Danish-Chinese trade figures, which move in the opposite direction of the slowing total Danish trade worldwide (export down 20.4 percent, import down 12.3 percent). Indeed, Danish export to China grew by 11 percent in the first months of 2009 compared to 2008, while Chinese export to Denmark grew by 5.3 percent in the same period.

These figures speak for themselves, Nils Foss maintained, and show why members should increase focus on the positive aspects of Chinese economy. Now is the right time to further invest in Chinese activities. For it is China, rather than Europe or the US, that is likely to recover at a good pace.

The chairman finished by stressing the important indirect value of a membership and encouraged all members to make further use of Danish-Chinese Business Forum as a link for strengthening business ties to China. With the strong official recognition of the network by both the Danish government and the Chinese authorities, Danish-Chinese Business Forum is the golden key to the Chinese market, Nils Foss declared.

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