Programme

The “Hamburg Summit's” programme consists of expert panels and keynote speeches. The conference design invites the active participation of the audience in open discussions and fosters a vivid exchange among all participants.

The panel topics of the “Hamburg Summit” 2012 are:

• Current situation of the world economy: The roles of China and Europe

  Slowing growth and slumping consumer confidence in the US and most of Europe lead to a grim outlook for the world economy. Even the world’s economic lighthouse China cannot fully enjoy its rise since its export-dependency still needs the West as its market. Being Washington’s biggest lender China has piled up huge reserves in US Dollars and also in Euros. It therefore carefully watches the debt crises in the United States and the Euro zone. While the world is in need of China’s economic strength, China is in need for strategic readjustment of its growth model to gain new sources of growth within its domestic market. This panel will discuss the state of the world economy and China‘s and Europe‘s strategies to revitalize and consolidate global growth.

• EU-China trade relations: an unbalanced partnership?

  Transnational trade fosters the international economic development. Tariff reductions, especially in times of crises, could boost trade and therefore contribute to the economic recovery. But international trade in goods and services still faces numerous tariff and non-tariff obstacles. However, the current trade negotiation-round of the WTO, the Doha development round, is on hold, maybe close to fail. The often used tit for tat-tactic or the not in my backyard-attitude do not help to solve these problems. This panel will discuss possible scenarios of world trade system and the roles of China and Europe.

• Liberalisation of the RMB

  The debt crises in Eurozone countries and in the US put pressure on the Euro and the US Dollar. In contrast to this, China’s fast-expanding economy and growing external trade will lead the RMB ultimately to reach an international status truly reflecting its economic weight and trade scale. The country slowly pushes the internationalisation of its currency. RMB trade settlement will not only provide opportunities for Chinese and foreign banks to strengthen and introduce RMB services to their corporate clients even though it largely remains a non-convertible currency. These companies can integrate RMB into their central currency-management. This panel will discuss opportunities for banks and companies and will dare a forecast on the future development of the RMB.

• Smart cities

  Cities house more than half of the world’s population and surely the trend of urbanisation will continue. To reduce energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions, individually tailored actions to the particular needs of each city are required. Smart technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of utility systems and services are needed to green already existing power, transport, water and waste systems. This panel will discuss solutions and strategies of intelligent infrastructure such as e-mobility and sustainable planning to transform today’s cities into smart cities of tomorrow.

• Raw material supply for China and Europe

  The rapid economic growth in developing countries has caused a tremendous increase in raw materials consumption including rare earths but most industrialized countries have underrated this topic for too long. In order to ensure their supply of raw materials countries like China develop new markets where they face competition with developed countries. This panel will discuss possible strategies to ensure a long-term global distribution.