STATE PREMIER RÜTTGERS PROMOTES NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA IN SHANGHAI
• Location marketing campaign “We love the new…” now introduced in Shanghai
• Rüttgers emphasizes the importance of economic cooperation between China and North Rhine-Westphalia
• Professional table tennis player Timo Boll competes against young Chinese talents in the world's highest table tennis match
Shanghai, November 19, 2009 – As part of his several-day trip to China, State Premier Jürgen Rüttgers presented the location marketing campaign “We love the new...” in Shanghai, China's economic hotspot. The campaign aims at convincing further investors of the advantages that North Rhine-Westphalia has to offer as a business location. “North Rhine-Westphalia is situated at the heart of Europe. With 18 million people, we are Germany’s most populous, economically powerful region. Our innovative strength, creative environment and high quality of life also serve to distinguish us as a business location,” says Rüttgers.
The federal state's innovative power and cosmopolitanism are the focus of the campaign – characteristics which the residents of North Rhine-Westphalia have in common with the people of China. China was the first country in which North Rhine-Westphalia's location marketing campaign “We love the new...” was introduced. Following successful launches in Beijing, Nanjing and Shenzhen in March of this year, the campaign is now being launched in Shanghai.
Two new advertising motifs have been developed especially for the Chinese market. The first depicts Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Management Board of Bayer AG, based in Leverkusen in North Rhine-Wesphalia. In 1899, it invented Aspirin, which would later become the world’s most popular painkiller. China is one of the global corporation's most important markets. In addition to Bayer, more than 2,700 other companies from North Rhine-Westphalia have branches in China, including corporations such as Evonik, Lanxess, Metro and ThyssenKrupp as well as numerous well-known medium-sized businesses, such as Dolezych, Jowat, Mennekes, Oschatz, Phoenix Contact, Remondis and Vorwerk.
The second ad motif portrays Timo Boll, a professional table tennis player for the team Borussia Düsseldorf, who also traveled to Shanghai as a location ambassador. Boll states: “I have always enjoyed my frequent trips to China. China and North Rhine-Westphalia share a love of sports.” As evidence of this, following the press presentation in the Shanghai World Financial Center, Timo Boll proceeded to compete in a table tennis match against students from Shanghai's Tongji University and exchange students from Ruhr University Bochum. The match, which took place on the 93rd floor of the building, was simultaneously “the worlds highest table tennis match.” “I have been looking forward to this particular challenge very much. China's young table tennis talents have an incredible amount of potential. China and North Rhine-Westphalia are both dedicated to supporting promising young sportsmen as well as young business professionals,” Boll says. And State Premier Rüttgers is equally delighted about the table tennis player's involvement: “We are proud to have Timo Boll promoting North Rhine-Westphalia. He is one of the most recognized and popular foreign athletes in China and an ideal ambassador for our federal state.”
Over the past few years, North Rhine-Westphalia has become the most preferred investment location in Europe for Chinese businesses. More than 600 Chinese companies, including renowned corporations such as Evoc, Feida Tools, Genertec, Huawei, Lifan Europe, Midea, Minmetals, Sany and ZTE, have already established branches in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous federal state. “In 2008, the number of Chinese businesses increased by 30 percent in comparison to the previous year. That is six times as many as in 2003,” according to Petra Wassner, CEO of the federal state's economic development agency NRW.INVEST.
China is now one of North Rhine-Westphalia's main economic partners. After the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, China holds the fourth position in terms of imports. On the list of the most important export nations for North Rhine-Westphalia, China ranks at number nine, making it the federal state's most significant trade partner in Asia. “We would like to strengthen our traditionally close economic and social ties and expand our cooperation in the future,” stresses Rüttgers.
For more information about North Rhine-Westphalia's location marketing campaign, visit our website: www.welovethenew.com
About NRW.INVEST China/Shanghai
The NRW.INVEST GmbH representative office in Shanghai provides Chinese companies with information about the business location North Rhine-Westphalia, about its environment and investment climate, about German legal regulations and social conditions as well as about the cities and sites, fairs and market chances in North Rhine-Westphalia. It consults Chinese businesses interested in settling in the federal state and accompanies them on their journey to North Rhine-Westphalia.
As an additional service, the NRW.INVEST GmbH representative office also hosts informational events about North Rhine-Westphalia as an industrial location.
Contact:
NRW.INVEST China/Shanghai
Economic Development Agency of the
German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
Huaizhen Huang, Executive Chief Representative
17A, Tomson Commercial Building
No. 710 Dongfang Road
Shanghai 200122, P.R. China
Phone: +86 (0)21 5081–9362
Fax: +86 (0)21 5081–9363
Email: office@nrwinvest-shanghai.cn
www.nrwinvestchina.cn
NRW.INVEST GmbH
Economic Development Agency
of the German State of
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
Annette Peis, Press and PR
Völklinger Str. 4,
40219 Düsseldorf, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 211-130 00 162
Fax: +49 (0) 211-130 00 154
E-Mail: Peis@nrwinvest.com
www.nrwinvest.com