Chinese banks are most welcome in the Grand Duchy, and China’s president was right to warn against protectionism earlier this month, leading Luxembourg political figures have said.
Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg prime minister, attends a reception to mark the Year of the Rooster organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Chinalux), held in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017Christine Rehfeldt and Mikkel Strørup, of the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Na Shi and Marie-Hélène Trouillez of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Valérie Dubois, and Joëlle Benguigui of the Luxembourg Chamber of CommerceRene Stoltz, Carlo Krieger and Laurent Mosar MP during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Francis Hoogewerf and Paul Schonenberg during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Claude Steinmetz and Alain LootsPatrick Ludovicy and Carlo PerrardJohannes Roos, Arja Roos and Hongyan WenglerMathon, Wandrey, Joëlle Benguigui and Carine RadouxFrank Christiaens and Xavier KiefferDanielle Maas, Patrick Ludovicy and Jacqueline OlsemMax Fischbach, Sebastian Kirch and Mikkel StrørupCharlotte Lahaije-Huttman and Yves KnelHeinrich Kreft, the German ambassador, and Carlo Krieger during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Serge Ecker and Max FischbachStéphane Compain, Max Chorus and Daniel PhongEmilien Lacorde and Sami HachichaJohann Wydeau, Veronika Vilimkova, Jennifer Beaulieu and Thomas DuongFloriana Prendi, Justyna Grzesiak and Yunxi CuiMichele Jensen Carlen and Sebastian KirchEva Boehm, Richard Chan and Laurent HaagA Chinese zither player performs during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Wei Zhu (standing) and her colleague offer tastings of tea during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Carlo Thelen, managing director of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (left), Laurent Mosar MP (second from left)Xavier Bettel greets guests during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017A reception to mark the Year of the Rooster organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Chinalux), held in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017Carlo Thelen, managing director of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, speaks during a Chinese new year reception held at the chamber’s headquarters in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017Ellie Wong (centre) listens to the speech by Carlo Thelen, managing director of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, during a Chinese new year reception held at the chamber’s headquarters in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg prime minister, speaks during a reception to mark the Year of the Rooster organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Chinalux), held in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017Dignitaries listen to the speech by Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg prime minister, at the Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce on 15 February 2017. Pictured in the front row, from left, are: Laurent Mosar, Luxembourg MP; Shirley Lam, special representative for Hong Kong economic and trade affairs to the EU; Michel Wurth, chairman of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, and Nicolas Schmit, Luxembourg’s labour minister; Huang Changqing, the Chinese ambassador to Luxembourg; and Carlo Thelen, managing director of the Luxembourg Chamber of CommerceAttendees take pictures with their mobile phones of Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, while he addresses a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Attendees take pictures with their mobile phones of Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, while he addresses a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Huang Changqing, the Chinese ambassador to Luxembourg, speaks during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Shirley Lam, special representative for Hong Kong economic and trade affairs to the EU, speaks during a reception to mark the Year of the Rooster organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Chinalux), held in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017Dirk Dewitte, president of the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, speaks during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Students from the Luxembourg Chinese Language and Culture Centre (www.clccl.lu) perform the traditional lion dance during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Students from the Luxembourg Chinese Language and Culture Centre (www.clccl.lu) perform the traditional lion dance during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Students from the Luxembourg Chinese Language and Culture Centre (www.clccl.lu) perform the traditional lion dance during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Two students from the Luxembourg Chinese Language and Culture Centre (www.clccl.lu) sing during a Chinese new year reception held at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in Kirchberg, on 15 February 2017Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg prime minister (standing, third from left), poses with students from the Luxembourg Chinese Language and Culture Centre (www.clccl.lu) during a reception to mark the Year of the Rooster organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Chinalux), held in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017. Also pictured is Zhang Yi, director of the CLCCL, and Li Yi of the Confucius Institute in Trier.A reception to mark the Year of the Rooster organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Chinalux), held in Kirchberg on 15 February 2017
In his formal remarks, Carlo Thelen, managing director of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the new initiative to make Luxembourg a “one-stop shop for promoting entrepreneurship and building a platform for business creation and development.” Since this launch, numerous Chinese investors have entered the programme, he said.
As he wished the Chinese community a happy new year, he drew parallels between the characteristics of the rooster and the coming year, and outlined the chamber’s 2017 programme, which includes “one belt one road seminars in logistics, finance and ICT”.
Thelen then extended a formal welcome to China Everbright Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank which are setting up in Luxembourg. These are the 7th and 8th major Chinese banks to open EU hubs in the Grand Duchy.
“Dangers of a trade war”
Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s prime minister, in his speech, praised the “excellent ties” between Luxembourg and China. Referencing Chinese president Xi Jinping’s speech at the 2017 World Economic Forum, Bettel said: “The Chinese president warned against the dangers of a trade war, saying that pursuing protectionism is just like locking yourself in a dark room. Wind and rain cannot enter, but neither can light and air.”
Agreeing with the president, the prime minister confirmed that Luxembourg would continue to be an advocate of free and fair trade. Bettel then noted that the relationship between Luxembourg and China has been amicable since the “very beginning”. In 1894, when Luxembourg was setting up its own steel industry, a group of Luxembourg engineers helped China to build its first glass furnace, in Wuhan. Bettel said, “that was the first step which helped China set up its first real backbone and today our numerous joint ventures continue.”
Shirley Lam, special representative for Hong Kong economic and trade affairs to the EU, drew similarities between Hong Kong and Luxembourg. Both places, she stated, are “super-connectors: with Hong Kong acting as a gateway to China and Luxembourg acting as a gateway for Europe.”
6th official language?
The popular event had an impressive turnout with over 500 registrations, according to Chinalux president Dirk Dewitte. He said that this has been their biggest new year celebration in 15 years. Joking that Chinese could become the 6th official language in Luxembourg, he introduced the lion dance and singing performance by two students at the Centre de Langue et de Culture Chinoise du Luxembourg.
The cocktail reception commenced with a traditional tea ceremony, accompanied by music by a Chinese zither player and harpist.
Having worked with high quality textiles in China for many years, attendee Valerie Dubois told Delano that she was pleased to see Luxembourg celebrating Chinese new year in a big way. “There are many parallels to be celebrated between both cultures, we have the same values, we’re respectful of our differences and we have strong family values. We’re more alike than people think!”
