Premier Yves Leterme spreekt bij de opening van het China-EU Business Forum (en)

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President, Mr. Commissioner, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor for our country to host the 2010 China-EU i Business Summit. This gathering takes place after a very successful ASEM summit yesterday and - I am sure - before what will be an even fruitful EU-China summit this afternoon.

Chinese and Europeans may be different in many ways. But with all the differences, one thing I know for sure is that we certainly have in common a firm belief in enterprise and trade as well as the conviction that prosperity can be achieved through excellence, hard work and innovation. Not at all coincidentally, ‘innovation and creativity’ have been chosen as the main themes of this year’s EU China Business Summit. Developing those particular skills is indeed vital if we want to overcome the crisis we are still facing and lay down sound foundations for future growth and - in Europe’s case - recovery.

As leading world economies, both Europe and China have a duty, not only to deliver future prosperity, but to do so in a sustainable manner. Overall, what is clear today is that the combined impact of rising population, changing demographics and expanding consumption is immensely affecting the planet we live on, especially as far as climate is concerned. And while we all know that prosperity depends on sustained economic growth, it is equally true that sustainable growth will, in the future, greatly depend on the innovation capacities of our companies.

We need to look together, business and political leaders, to the challenges of the 21st century. Surely such close meetings as the meeting we have today should give us the opportunity to build together in a positive spirit to our global house.

I wish you a very interesting exchange of views and thank you for your attention.lete