European Commission Reasserts Commitment to Human Resources Development in Building EU-China Relations

BRUSSELS, January 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Five Years of the EU-China Managers Exchange and Training Programme (METP)

- Common Approach Fostered Bilateral Cooperation

Leading representatives of the European Union and the People's Republic of China have reasserted their commitment to focusing on human resources development in the context of business relations between the EU and China. This was stated at a conference last Wednesday at the Résidence Palace in Brussels assessing five years of the EU-China Managers Exchange and Training Programme (METP), a comprehensive ten-month language and management scheme for Chinese and EU professionals.

Dr Franz Jessen, Head of China Unit at the newly-formed European External Actions Service (EEAS) pointed out that programmes like METP, which ends in June, are instrumental in building relations between the EU and China. Thereby, he confirmed that the European Union remained committed to focusing on human resources development, especially in the field of language training, in the context of the EU's business relations with China.

Mr Yin Zonghua, Minister Counsellor of the People's Republic of China's Mission to the EU, stressed that METP was an important first step for more interactions to come: "We should have more programmes like this in which young professionals from China and the EU meet to promote mutual understanding, explore potential business opportunities, and help deepen further the economic and trade relations between China and the European Union."

During the discussion, both officials stressed the importance of exchange programmes like METP to significantly improve the cooperation and mutual understanding between European and Chinese managers. This was further explained by Xu Liang, Director of the Division of European Affairs at CCPIT and METP Project Director in Beijing "METP highlights a very important aspect of the Sino-European relationship - confidence in one another. Building that confidence will be the key if we are to continue to develop a deep and lasting relationship". International networks and intercultural knowledge have become an increasingly important asset for successful trade relations. This development specifically applies to China and the European Union. . "The economic bond between the EU and China has developed extraordinarily fast. Two decades ago, there was almost no trade at all between China and Europe. Today, we form the second biggest economic relationship in world."

Dr Stefan Hell, METP team leader based in Beijing, stressed that METP was able to build up a network of more than 400 business people committed to promoting EU-China relations: "METP is ending after five years, but EU-China business relations will need further human relations development, as language remains the key to unlock business culture in China."

The European Commission and the Chinese government developed METP to give small and medium-sized companies in particular the chance to establish business contacts abroad. The initiative is a cornerstone of the EU's efforts to build stable and longstanding ties in the field of economics and trade. Since its initiation in 2006, the fully-funded programme has witnessed five training intakes each lasting ten months, in which about 450 European and Chinese managers took part. In June this year METP will come to an end.

For further information about METP: http://www.metp.net.cn

The EU-China Managers Exchange and Training Programme (METP) is a five-year intergovernmental cooperation project between the European Commission and the Government of the People's Republic of China. Placed within the dynamic context of continuously evolving relations between the EU and China, the non-profit programme is designed to enhance business expertise by developing European and Chinese human resources. METP aims to train and financially support internships for 450 Chinese managers in the EU and European managers in China. The programme is implemented by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade from 2006 to 2011, and total funding from the EC and the Government of China is 23 million Euros.

    
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