The trade volume between China and Germany reached 41.8 billion US dollars in 2003, or one third of the total trade volume between China and Europe, official statistics show.

Germany has become a leading trade partner of China in Europe and China is the biggest trade partner of Germany in Asia, Xie Fuzhan, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said at a recent Sino-German Economic Forum in Tianjin, a port city in north China.

Xie said Germany has invested in over 3,500 projects in China with a total investment of 10 billion US dollars. As a result of China's policy encouraging enterprises "to go beyond the borders",more than 600 Chinese enterprises have invested in Germany.

Xie said the Chinese government's target of quadrupling its national economy in the first 20 years of the 21st century and China's accession to the World Trade Organization are sure to provide huge business opportunities for countries around the world,including Germany.

Xie expressed the hope that the two countries further expand bilateral cooperation to serve the purpose of promoting economic development of the two countries.