Hamburg Summit to focus on Belt and Road Initiative

SHANGHAI - China's Belt and Road Initiative will be a key focus of the Hamburg Summit in Germany on Nov 23 and 24, said Lars Anke, chief representative of Hamburg Liaison Office China.

Initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, the Hamburg Summit is a major Sino-European economic conference that aims to boost exchanges and tap business opportunities for entrepreneurs from both countries, according to organizers.

German and Chinese companies are increasing bilateral trade and investment in light of the initiative and also seeking cooperation opportunities in ports, transportation and industrial automation, Anke told reporters Tuesday in Shanghai.

So far, over 550 Chinese companies have set up offices in Hamburg and more than 700 Hamburg businesses are engaged in trade with China. In 2015, Hamburg port handled 2.5 million container units (TEU) from and to China, a third of all handled in the German port.

Chinese companies have also increased investment in Germany, according to Peter Rothen, consul general of Germany in Shanghai.

Chinese companies have showed strong interest in Hamburg's digital market.

In June, Spearhead, a Beijing-based company, acquired mobile advertising platform Smaato from Hamburg for $148 million. In April, Shanghai-based Youzu Interactive acquired Hamburg-based game developer Bigpoint with the aim of jointly building a global marketplace for online and mobile games.

Dutch chipmaker NXP is currently selling its high-tech semiconductor plant in Hamburg to a consortium consisting of Jianguang Asset Management and Wise Road Capital.