Hamburg, China deepen ties as trade booms

Hamburg - Hamburg sees itself as China's gateway to Europe, with the city in northern Germany hosting the most important port for the world's second-biggest economy.

The number of Chinese companies based in Hamburg has climbed from just three in 1985 to over 500 today - more than any other German or European city.

A similar number of Hamburg-based companies have operations in China.

This has helped turn Hamburg into what China's burgeoning global business and trading community now call Hanbao - Chinese fortress.

Container traffic through Hamburg leapt 12.9% during the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 2013, making Asia Hamburg's biggest trading partner.

In 2013, the China-related container transport represented about 30% of the total cargo handled at the port.

More than 10 000 people with a Chinese background live in Hamburg today, with over 50% of German trade with China passing through the city.

While the city's economic ties to China date back to the early part of the 18th century, Hamburg and the leading Chinese trading metropolis of Shanghai have been partner cities since 1986.

Despite a lively local Chinese culture in Hamburg, various attempts to revive what was once the city's Chinatown have so far failed to bear fruit.

Hamburg's Chinatown essentially disappeared during the years of Nazi rule, in the middle of the last century.