Which future?

[i]Europe and China The implications of the Rise of China as a Global Economic Power for Cities and Regions in Europe[/i] International conference 29/30 September 2006 Universität Dortmund In recent years, the rise of China as an economic power has received much prominence in the international and national media, as well as in the worlds of business, banking and economic development in Europe. The rapid growth of the Chinese economy has become a European concern. More and more large European corporations and medium-sized enterprises are shifting production from Europe to cities and regions in China and other East Asian countries to benefit from both the cheap labour costs and the easy access to a huge, seemingly insatiable Chinese market. European universities benefit from the huge influx of Chinese students or strive to attract more. Tourist associations in Europe have started to accommodate the expectations and needs of tourists from Mainland China. European architects, suffering fromthe economic stagnation in many European regions, are searching for new commissions and are pleased to be invited by local governments and developers to use Chinese cities as a “real world” laboratory for their modern projects and plans. What the United States of America was in the 19th and 20th centuries, China (together with India and other Asian countries) seems to be in the 21st century: a region of unlimited possibilities. For more information: http://www.europe-and-china.info/index.html