A Chinese trade and investment delegation brought more than just money with it when it went on a recent shopping spree in Europe.

The delegation's trip, according to local reports, was a bit of an antidote to Europe's declining economy amid the ongoing global financial crisis.

"The Chinese procurement delegation to Europe brought a ray of dawn light to Germany's auto industry," said German newspaper Sud-deutsche Zeitung.

The business delegation, led by Commerce Minister Chen Deming, purchased billions of dollars worth of products and technology from Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Britain during its Feb.24-28 tour.

Creating win-win situation for Europe, China

The delegation's visit not only brought "warmth" to Europe, but laid a sound foundation for China and Europe to jointly cope with the financial crisis.

The trip was an important follow-up action to Premier Wen Jiabao's visit from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3 that gave new confidence and momentum to Europe.

Wen, on many occasions, has said that confidence is more important than gold during the world's handling of the financial crisis. Saying from this viewpoint, the delegation has sent something more precious than gold to Europe.

Chinese companies, which were part of the delegation, signed procurement contracts worth more than 10 billion US dollars with Germany, the biggest economy in the European Union and the biggest exporter in the world.

Die Welt newspaper said Germany's recession, the most severe in decades, would be lessened by the Chinese orders.

Swiss Economy Minister Doris Leuthard called the agreements between Swiss and Chinese companies "good news to our businesses."

"They signed contracts which will safeguard jobs and strengthen the cooperation between Swiss and Chinese companies in different fields in our economy," she said.

The visit brought a double-win situation for Europe and China, as Chinese companies didn't waste money when buying products and technology from Europe.

Chen told Xinhua recently that the products and technology, most of which were advanced, would be essential to facilitate the adjustment of China's economic structure and growth.

Yankuang Light Alloy Co., Ltd signed a contract worth 57 million euros (around 73 million US dollars) with SMS Meer of Germany to import four extrusion production lines.

The contract was the biggest single deal for SMS Meer in recent years, and it was a vital agreement for the German company, said Yan Jitai, chairman of the Chinese alloy company.

One of the production lines, Yan said, was the biggest in the world, which would boost the production and the competitiveness of his company.

"We benefit a lot from this trade and investment tour," Yan said.

Against trade protectionism

Recently there has been a growth in protectionism because of the rapid deterioration of the global economy due to the financial turmoil.

Though widely acknowledged as a "poison" to the revival of the world's economy, some countries' inconsistency in speech and actions have overshadowed the economic prospects of the world.

The US stimulus package, including a "buy American" provision, has raised eyebrows in Europe, where protectionism has also permeated.

In attempting to saving their domestic economies, some European countries have strived to maintain their own interests.

Chen, meanwhile, often said during the Europe trip that China would stick to opening markets and firmly opposes protectionism. In fact, the procurement trip itself became the exemplar of taking real action against protectionism.

Juergen Heraeus, chairman of the China Council of Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, recently warned that protectionism is "on the rise," saying "a certain country is attempting to encourage its citizens to buy their own goods, and that is dangerous."

Chen told an audience of more than 600 Chinese and European business people in London on Friday that in a global society, no country could stand alone.

In the current crisis, he said, seclusion and protectionism leads nowhere. An open market and collaboration is the only way out, he said.

China-Europe's collaboration in weathering hard times

China and Europe, as two of the primary economic entities in the world, remain open to each other and continuously strengthen cooperation. That will not only help both sides overcome the financial turmoil, but also help put the global economy back on track.

Statistics from the Chinese Commerce Ministry indicate that trade volumes between China and the European Union (EU) have surpassed 425.5 billion US dollars. That accounts for 16.6 percent of China's overall trade volume.

Meanwhile, China now is one of the EU's largest trading partners, second only to the United States. With the U.S. economy drastically shrinking, China to some extent has underpinned Europe's trading.

Eurostat statistics showed that from January to November 2008, EU exports to the United States plunged 5 percent compared with the same period in 2007, while EU exports to China increased 10 percent.

Chen said that the Chinese government would adhere to the opening markets policy despite the tough economic challenges ahead.

He also said China would actively engage itself with Europe amid the crisis, seeking collaboration to weather the hard times.

Chen believed that to call the 150-member group of government officials and business people he led a "procurement" delegation was not enough.

Besides procuring technologies and products, Chen said, both China and Europe extensively communicated concerning additional trade and investment.

The trip was intended for making purchases in Europe, but more importantly, it also allowed Chinese products to seek commercial opportunities in Europe.

Chen said the trip was only a beginning on China's part. Chen noted that a group of Chinese investors would visit Europe in a week's time to further explore investment opportunities.

All in all, it could be put like this: China's trip to Europe has initiated a good start for strengthened cooperation between both sides in fighting the global financial crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2009)