Though the Global Financial Crisis has not been resolved, the increase in Asian trade has encouraged many investors and companies to resume business in Chinese operations.
APM Terminals, for example, the port operations division of AP-Moller Maersk Group, has recently announced it will be continuing its investments in the region following a short pause as a result of the crisis.
Martin Christiansen, the division’s chief operating officer and head of its Asian-Pacific operations said “We are actively looking for investment opportunities in emerging Asian markets such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia.”
He added that a slight reduction of exports from China was to be expected. “The growth rate of China’s container volumes in the future is expected to be lower than the past, particularly China’s export volumes to mature markets such as the United States and Europe.”
Other companies and regions have also taken interest in China’s potential. China’s ambassador to Canada, Zhang Junsai, has stated that the relations between the two countries have improved dramatically over recent months. He continued, saying he expected trade to continue to increase, as well as foreign investment.
“China is playing an increasingly peaceful and constructive role in the world. China has performed very well during the financial crisis and I think all this is seen by the Canadian people that China is making contributions to the world economy,” Mr. Zhang said. “More importantly, China has a huge market. There is a great potential for both countries to develop friendly relations.”