Initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, the Hamburg Summit is a major Sino-European economic conference that aims to boost exchanges and tap business opportunities for entrepreneurs from both countries, according to organizers.

German and Chinese companies are increasing bilateral trade and investment in light of the initiative and also seeking cooperation opportunities in ports, transportation and industrial automation, Anke told reporters Tuesday in Shanghai.

So far, over 550 Chinese companies have set up offices in Hamburg and more than 700 Hamburg businesses are engaged in trade with China. In 2015, Hamburg port handled 2.5 million container units (TEU) from and to China, a third of all handled in the German port.

Chinese companies have also increased investment in Germany, according to Peter Rothen, consul general of Germany in Shanghai.

Chinese companies have showed strong interest in Hamburg's digital market.

In June, Spearhead, a Beijing-based company, acquired mobile advertising platform Smaato from Hamburg for $148 million. In April, Shanghai-based Youzu Interactive acquired Hamburg-based game developer Bigpoint with the aim of jointly building a global marketplace for online and mobile games.

Dutch chipmaker NXP is currently selling its high-tech semiconductor plant in Hamburg to a consortium consisting of Jianguang Asset Management and Wise Road Capital.

Abe spoke to reporters before leaving Tokyo's Haneda Airport for New York on Thursday for his first meeting with Trump.

Abe said it is an honor to be meeting the next US president ahead of other world leaders. He said that he hopes to talk with Trump about their dreams for the future.

He reiterated that the Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's foreign and security policy, but said it requires mutual trust in order to function properly.

He said he hopes to build such a relationship with Trump and join hands in working for world prosperity and peace.

After meeting Trump, Abe will head to the Peruvian capital of Lima to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be attending the summit.

Abe plans to hold talks with Putin while in Lima.

After the APEC summit, he will visit Buenos Aires in Argentina for talks with President Mauricio Macri.

The Saudis said Trump should be careful before making such a drastic decision.

“At his heart President-elect Trump will see the benefits and I think the oil industry will also be advising him accordingly that blocking trade in any product is not healthy,” Saudi Energy Minister and Aramco chairman Khalid Al-Falih told the Financial Times.

The de facto OPEC leader is the largest Middle East oil supplier to the US. However, most of America's oil is produced domestically or imported from Canada. The Saudis have an 11 percent share in US crude oil imports, while Canada has 40 percent. OPEC’s total share of US oil imports is 31 percent.

In 2015, the US imported about 9.4 million barrels of oil per day from about 88 countries, says the government-run Energy Information Administration. The country consumed 7.08 billion barrels of petroleum products, or about 19.4 million barrels per day.

“The US is sort of the flag-bearer for capitalism and free markets,” according to Al-Falih. “The US continues to be a very important part of a global industry that is interconnected, that is dealing with a fungible commodity which is crude oil. So having equalization through free trade is very healthy for oil,” he said.

According to Falih, the Saudis are waiting for Trump’s presidency, as his presidential campaign had amounted to “50,000 feet announcements” that may change.

Sources say the Development Bank of Japan, along with other banks in Japan and Europe, will extend loans to build a plant near Middlesbrough.

The sources say the Development Bank will lend tens of millions of dollars in project financing.

With a capacity of 300 megawatts, the biomass plant will be one of the largest in the world. It is expected to start operating in 2020 and will supply electricity to 600,000 homes.

Biomass is seen as a more stable source of renewable energy than solar and wind power. It is also expected to help the forestry industry by using woodchips obtained by thinning trees.

Biomass power generation is expected to increase in Japan as the Paris Agreement has taken effect to cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

The sources say the Development Bank is hoping to apply the know-how from the British project to promote renewable energy in Japan.

The bank is also financing solar and offshore wind power generation projects.