Hong Kong and the European Union should work even more closely together to take advantage of huge business opportunities as China continues to open up and develop.

This was the conclusion of the 7th Plenary Session of the Hong Kong-EU and EU-Hong Kong Business Co-operation Committees meeting in Hong Kong today.

The further development of Hong Kong's financial services and other pillars of the economy were a major focus of the discussions, especially in relation to China.

"While China looms large in the world, Hong Kong looms very large in China," said Hong Kong-EU committee Chairman Dr Raymond Ch'ien.

"European companies can leverage their special relationship with Hong Kong to enjoy a greater share of new business opportunities in the mainland."

Dr Ch'ien added that Hong Kong should continue to broaden its economic base and advantages by, for example, serving as a regional centre for education, which would mean admitting more mainland and overseas students to its universities.

EU committee Chairman Sir Rod Eddington said it was clear that Hong Kong and China, like Europe, were increasingly concerned about environmental issues.

"Tackling these is a priority in China's 11th Five Year Programme. Hong Kong and Europe, working together, can help to provide solutions."

Other topics on the plenary agenda included prospects for international business in Eastern Europe, India and ASEAN's rebounding economies.

It was announced that Sir Rod would step down as EU chair, to be succeeded by Mr Michael Treschow, Chairman of Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant. Sir Rod will become an honorary member of the EU-Hong Kong committeee.

The 8th Plenary Session will be held in a European city next year.

The Trade Development Council is the secretariat for the Hong Kong side of this high level business-to-business bilateral with the EU.

For press enquiries, please contact Ms. Harsha Harjani of TDC's Corporate Communication Department at harsha.harjani@tdc.org.hk

Note: A list of the attendees at the 7th Plenary Session is appended below.

HK-EU & EU-HK Business Co-operation Committees
7th Plenary Session, Hong Kong
31 March 2006

List of Attendance

A. Hong Kong Members (14)

Dr. Raymond K. F. Ch'ien (Chairman)
Chairman
MTR Corporation Ltd.
Chairman
CDC Corporation

Mr. Christopher Cheng
Chairman
Wing Tai Corporation Ltd.

Mr. Paul M. F. Cheng
Chairman
The Link Management Ltd.

Mr. Horst Geicke
Chairman
Pacific Alliance Group

Mr. Hans Michael Jebsen
Chairman
Jebsen & Co. Ltd.

Mr. Keith Kerr
Chairman
Swire Properties Ltd.

Mr. Bill Kong
Executive Director
Edko Films Ltd.

Mr. Fred Lam
Executive Director
Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Ms. Christine Loh
Chief Executive Officer
Civic Exchange

Ms. Mary Ma
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President
Lenovo Group Ltd.

Mr. Alasdair Morrison
Chairman
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Asia Ltd.

Mr. Samson Tam
Chairman
Group Sense Ltd.

Mr. James E. Thompson
Chairman
Crown Worldwide Holdings Ltd.

Dr. Allan Wong
Chairman
VTech Holdings Ltd.

B. European Union Members (15)

Sir Rod Eddington (Chairman)
Adviser to the British Government on Transport Policy

Mr. Paul Cannon (proxy for Mr. John Harris)
Board Director
Harvard Maritime Ltd.
Alba Group

Mr. Alessandro Daneu
Chairman
Vitrum Lux

Dr. Gary Dirks (proxy for Mr. Peter Sutherland)
Group Vice President and Chief Executive Officer
BP China

Mr. Claus Hemmingsen
Senior Vice President, AP Moller
Chief Executive Officer, Maersk Contractors

Mr. Thomas Kressner
Chairman and Chief Executive
YES Television

Mr. Thomas Lanaras
President and Chief Executive Officer
Klonatex

Mr. Michael Miles
Chairman
Schroders

Mr. Stuart Milne (proxy for Mr. Charles-Henri Filippi)
Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking Asia Pacific
HSBC

Mr. Hans-Hermann Mohr
President and Chief Executive Officer
Senator Lines

Mr. Andrew Rickards (proxy for Baron David de Rothschild)
Head of Investment Banking
N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd. *

Sir John Rose
Chief Executive
Rolls-Royce plc

Mr. Ruud Sleijffers (proxy for Mr. Gerard Kleisterlee)
Chief Executive Officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Philips

Mr. Michael Treschow
Chairman
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

Mr. Sam Zavatti
Senior Executive Vice President
ABN Amro Bank

C. European Union Office of the European Commission in Hong Kong (2)

Mr. Thomas Roe
Head of Office

Mr. Michalis Rokas
First Secretary (Trade and Economic Affairs)