Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit reiterated in Berlin on September 17 that as China is to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) very soon, Germany and China should open up more cooperative projects to deepen mutual ties.

Speaking at a news reception introducing the Sino-European Business Congress at the Asia-Pacific Weeks Berlin 2001 opened on September 18, Wowereit said China's infrastructure construction in Beijing's preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games and mammoth environment protection operations all open up new spheres for cooperation.

China's State Council Information Office Director Zhao Qizheng said at the reception that as China and EU are promoting ties in political, economic, scientific, educational and cultural spheres, Sino-EU cooperation will witness vast potentials.

For Germany alone, Zhao said, it has a lot to tap in the Chinese market.

Rolf Eckrodt, a DaimlerChrysler Group executive and COO of the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Tokyo, told the reception that Germany and other EU countries should now turn their focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

China's ready entry into the WTO will offer breakthrough in vast economic chances, he said.

It is of vital importance to invest in China, he said, adding: "I am fully confident of investing in the fast expanding country."

(China Daily 09/19/2001)