China-Germany trade: Wen meets Merkel in Berlin

[Pakchina]

From BBC News

Chinese and German leaders are meeting for trade talks in the German capital Berlin, with the Chinese seeking new investment by hi-tech companies.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived on Monday evening on the final leg of his European tour, and is meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Germany is by far China's biggest trading partner in the EU.

Mrs Merkel predicted bilateral trade would rise to 200bn euros (£178bn; $284bn) from 130bn over five years.

While China eyes more sophisticated markets, German firms do not want to lose know-how to Chinese competition.

Both sides are now starting to understand how they can benefit from each other, the BBC's Stephen Evans reports from Berlin.

Some German companies are keen to manufacture in China and realise that this will involve some transfer of technology, while remaining cautious about what trade secrets to hold back.

China has been increasing its holdings of bonds denominated in euros. Were these loans to eurozone governments to change, the crisis in the eurozone would get worse, our correspondent says.

'Respect our choices'

Mr Wen's visit began with an informal dinner hosted by Mrs Merkel at a lakeside villa on Monday.

The German leader insisted she would not play down human rights concerns for the sake of trade.

"We have different opinions on certain issues but I am confident we can discuss them," she said at the dinner.

Speaking to German and Chinese business leaders at his hotel on Tuesday, Mr Wen said he would not accept lectures from European partners.

"China respects the political system and the development model chosen by the citizens of the EU," he said.

"In exchange, we expect from the EU respect of our sovereignty, our territorial integrity and the autonomous choices of the Chinese people."

 

[ChinaToday]

China and UK strike space deal

Chinese and UK companies have agreed a deal that will result in three high-resolution Earth observation spacecraft being built to map China's extraordinary growth from orbit.

The deal was penned between Guildford satellite imagery provider DMCii and Beijing-based company 21AT.

It means DMCii can now roll out its new constellation of spacecraft that will picture details on the surface of the planet less than a metre wide.

They should be ready to launch in 2014.

For 21AT (Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Company Ltd), it means it can have ready access to Earth imagery without the worry of having to launch and operate satellites in orbit.

The Chinese company will take 100% of the capacity of the three spacecraft over an initial contract period of seven years. Day-to-day use of the data will be handled by 21AT subsidiary, BLMIT.

It will use the pictures to monitor land use and land-cover changes. In particular, the data will enable regional governments to plan better the extraordinary rate of development in China's cities.

The satellites for the DMC-3 constellation, as it is called, will be manufactured by DMCii's parent company, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL). It will cost some £110m to build, launch and insure these platforms.


The imagery from the satellites will be needed in particular for urban planning Approval for the deal has come from the highest levels in government in both London and Beijing, and the satellite data package was actually part of the £1.4bn of trade agreements signed between premiers David Cameron and Wen Jiabao during their summit on Monday.

Both administrations gave their consent after being re-assured that no technology transfer rules were being broken.

The DMC-3 constellation will be operated on a different business model to the other satellites managed currently by DMCii.

These older platforms are wholly owned by the countries that use their data. In the case of DMC-3, the Guildford company will own the spacecraft and lease the capacity to the Chinese. It is a model familiar in satellite telecommunications but not in Earth observation.

Each DMC-3 satellite will be in a larger class than the earlier spacecraft - about 350kg in mass.

As well as their high resolution cameras (1m/pixel resolution panchromatic; 4m/pixel resolution colour), they will also accommodate imagers capable of mapping ultra-wide strips of the Earth's surface, albeit at resolutions above 20m.

This broad-swath facility will allow DMCii to use the new satellites for disaster response - a key skill the company has developed for itself during its seven years of existence.

Its current fleet plays a leading role in acquiring the urgent maps needed by relief agencies when a natural or man-made calamity strikes a particular corner of the globe.


The deal was signed on Monday - part of a much wider UK-China trade agreement No formal arrangement has been put in place to allow the Chinese-sponsored platforms to perform this function, but it is expected they will take up some humanitarian duties from time to time.

21AT-BLMIT already does this with the Beijing-1 satellite that has been managed in orbit by DMCii since its launch in 2005. Beijing-1 returned much needed imagery following the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.

The vast majority of the time, however, the DMC-3 satellites will be busy mapping the rapidly changing landscape of China. Their coverage should ensure that any given area in the country can be re-visited on a daily basis.

DMCii hopes the initial three satellites can be followed by a fourth in due course.

"There is an enormous requirement for Earth observation data in China - for urban planning, for agriculture and water management, everything - and they also want to be able to update everything rapidly," explained SSTL Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting.

"On that basis we planned to put up a constellation of three spacecraft, but when the Chinese went away and looked in detail at what they needed they realised they wanted all the data. So, we'll launch these first three satellites and then look at putting up a fourth to expand the capacity and bring other partners on board as well," he told BBC News.

BBC News - China and UK strike space deal

 

[ChinaToday]

China agrees to invest billions in German products and know-how

China and Germany have signed trade deals estimated to be worth 10.6 billion euros ($15 billion), following joint government consultations earlier this week.

The meetings, which included 13 ministers and 300 business managers, were chaired by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Both leaders agreed to increase bilateral trade to 200 billion euros over the next five years. Last year, trade between the two countries amounted to 130 billion, up 34 percent from 2009, according to the Federation of German Industry (BDI).

Move to modernize

The deals, which dwarf the $2.3 billion in trade agreements with British companies signed earlier in the week, come as China moves to modernize its economy and Germany seeks more customers for its high-tech and luxury products.

The largest of them is an agreement between Airbus and China Aviation Supplies for delivery of 88 A320 planes, worth $7.5 billion.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: China has ordered 88 new Airbus planesGerman carmakers were also part of the action. Daimler agreed to a 2 billion investment in a new engine plant and expanded production of its compact cars. Volkswagen signed contracts for two new factories, including projects to develop electric cars.

The deals also show China taking a big step forward in overcoming its environmental problems with technology "made in Germany."

Engineering giant Siemens signed a memorandum of understanding with China's National Development and Reform Commission to help develop green technologies in areas such as smart electricity generation and carbon-capture systems.

Alba Group signed four technology transfer agreements for recycling systems, while Remondis Production and Martin agreed to deliver specialized waste systems.

Easing two-way investment

The deals also covered other areas, such as communications and medicine, and other German companies including T-Systems International, Preh and GermanTech as well as universities, hospitals and organizations, such as the Dresden Technical University, the Median Clinic and the Institute of Pathology at the Charite University Hospital.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was in Hungary and Britain before coming to GermanyBesides the business deals, Chinese and German officials signed a series of cooperation accords, with many of them in the environmental sector. The accords include research into energy-efficient buildings, urban development with low carbon emissions and the recycling of electric car batteries.

China and Germany also signed agreements to facilitate two-way investment, with Europe's largest economy eager to rebalance investments between the two countries. Currently, German investment in China stands at about $20 billion, compared with $600 million Chinese investment in Germany.

Rainer Gehnen, managing director of the German-Chinese Business Council (DCW), referred to the talks as "very helpful" and said they underscore "the successful economic cooperation between Germany and China over the past 20 years and the interest on both sides to expand this cooperation."

Gehnen told Deutsche Welle that in the mid to long term, China will remain "the most important market for Germany industry, simply because of the size of the market."

China agrees to invest billions in German products and know-how | Business | Deutsche Welle | 29.06.2011