Austria to hold forum for enhanced business links between China, German-speaking world

Austria will host a business forum on June 8-10, 2015, aimed at enhancing the networking between China and the German-speaking world, the organizers said Monday.

The China Business Forum, which will be held in Hofburg Palace in Vienna, the official residence of Austrian president, will bring together business people and decision-makers from Austria, China, Germany and Switzerland, its co-initiator Hans Georg Gasser said.

The forum, the first ever of its kind that is planned to become a yearly event, will focus on cross-border networking for potential business partners, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises, which may occupy a niche market and are in search of partnerships, Gasser said.

Gasser stressed the importance of China, Austria's largest trading partner in Asia, and the second most important overseas market behind the United States.

Austria currently has 650 companies in China, with investments totalling more than 3 billion U.S. dollars, and they are particularly strong in infrastructure and engineering, he said.

About 350 to 400 participants are expected to attend the forum, of whom 40 percent will come from China. Austrian Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner will inaugurate the event, Gasser said.