Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel in China

23.05.2006 - Federal Minister Glos received invited guests at the German Centre Shanghai

The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel, ended her first visit to China on Tuesday, 23 March 2006. Before departing, she rode the high-speed magnetic levitation train to the airport.

The photograph to the right shows Angela Merkel and China's Deputy Prime Minister Zeng Peiyan during their ride on the magnetic levitation train.

During her talks in Shanghai, the chancellor expressed the desire to work more closely together in the areas of economics and trade with China, and affirmed that Germany will actively participate in the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Further, she invited Chinese businesses to invest more in Germany.

During his meeting with Merkel, the mayor of Shanghai, Han Zheng, referred to the fact that the trade volume between Shanghai and Germany rose last year to 11 billion US dollars. At this time, there are over 800 German businesses in Shanghai.

Angela Merkel's trip to China was accompanied by Federal Minister of Economics and Labour Michael Glos and a large economic delegation composed of major representatives of German companies.

On the evening of 23 May 2006, the German General Consulate invited selected guest to an evening reception with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the German Centre Shanghai. Over 200 guests attended, including all top level representatives of German businesses. After the official programme, many guests took advantage of the opportunity to conduct personal discussions with Economic Minister Glos.

Within the context of this event, Federal Minister Glos visited the offices of the German companies VIEROL AG and DELO Industrie Klebstoffe (DELO Industrial Adhesives) in the German Centre Shanghai. These companies represent, as part of the economic delegation, German medium-sized businesses doing business successfully in China.

The reception in the new and excellently appointed conference facilities of the German Centre Shanghai offered an interesting evening with many stimulating discussions for all guests.