The visiting German president Johannes Rau said in Shanghai Sunday that Germany and Shanghai have established wide ranging cooperation and German enterprises are vigorous in the city.

Rau spoke during a meeting with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng.

Han spoke positively on German investment in Shanghai and said that the city has built up many exchange and cooperation projects with German enterprises.

Shanghai has made remarkable achievements in the economic development process in recent years, Rau said, demonstrating Shanghai's huge success after China adopted the reform and opening-up policy.

Recent official statistics showed that Germany has become one of the most important foreign investors to Shanghai. Up to the end of June, Germany had established 482 direct investment projects in the city and registered a contracted investment of US$3.358 billion, 4.8 percent of Shanghai's total contracted foreign investment.

According to the statistics, Shanghai saw a trade surge with Germany valued at US$5.5 billion last year and 4 billion dollars from this January to June.

The German president also delivered a speech at Shanghai's prestigious university of Fudan and visited Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall of Shanghai this afternoon.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2003)