the euro coins, more than 37. 5 billion coins or 90 % of the coins now in circulation with a total value of around eur 12. 4 billion had been frontloaded. broadly speaking, sub - frontloading – the pre - delivery by banks to retailers and other professional target groups – represented an overall amount of 10 to 20 % of the frontloaded amount. given that, in terms of transactions, around 70 % of banknotes are put into circulation via automated teller machines ( atms ), the quick adaptation of these machines was one of the key factors for a smooth changeover. in total, more than 200, 000 atms either on site in bank branches or off site, for example in shopping centres, had to be converted. this was achieved within less than one week. as a result, on average, 75 % of all cash transactions were already effected in euro after only one week. on the whole, the euro banknotes and coins were introduced considerably faster than originally foreseen, not least because of the favourable attitude of and quick acceptance by european citizens. i should like to mention that the changeover has also been smooth outside the euro area. the euro banknotes were received positively in third countries. information to the public has been generally adequate and euro banknotes were readily available in banks and exchange offices, in most cases. with regard to the frontloading of central banks outside the euro area, i should mention that 26 central banks, mainly in central and eastern europe, the mediterranean area and in africa, requested to be frontloaded with euro cash. the total value of the euro banknotes provided to these central banks and to wholesale banks outside the euro area amounted to some eur 4 billion. overall, the eurosystem is proud of and grateful to all actors ’ contributions to this historic process. the enthusiasm of the european citizens to get hold of euro cash can be seen as a clear vote for a united europe. recent global economic developments let me briefly review the current international environment. i feel quite some relief that the world economy has proved relatively resilient to the shock of the terrorist attacks in september of last year. the events of 11 september and their aftermath undoubtedly increased uncertainty, and for some time contributed substantially to the already ongoing deterioration in confidence in most countries. however, there are now more and more signs that the global economic downturn may have come to an end around the end of 2001. at the current juncture, a mild recovery is generally expected

willem duisenberg : china and the euro area in a global perspective address by dr willem f. duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at the symposium of the people ’ s bank of china, beijing, 25 february 2002. * * * governor dai, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to be here in china and i feel especially honoured to be invited to deliver a speech at the people ’ s bank. first, i would like to wish you all a very prosperous new year, under the sign of the horse. i would also like to take this opportunity to thank governor dai and his staff, among other things, for their hospitality and for having prepared such an excellent programme for our delegation. ever since china opened up to the outside world in 1978, it has been a major trading nation thanks to social and economic reforms. the process has turned china into a major economy and strengthened it as a political power. in 2000, the size of the chinese economy, measured in terms of gdp, passed the usd 1 trillion mark, and is now ranked fifth behind the united states, the euro area, japan and the united kingdom. to accompany china ’ s growing economic and financial weight in the international community, the eu is committed to further developing a comprehensive partnership with this country. the ecb is playing its part through co - operation in both international and bilateral meetings. for example, we meet regularly with other central banks in the context of the imf, g20 and bis to exchange views on global economic and financial issues. in fact, i have already met governor dai once this year ( actually, last week ) in hong kong, at a bis special governors ’ meeting. europe and asia also co - operate closely through the asem ( asia - europe meeting ) process, launched in bangkok in 1996. this has now developed into a broad forum for in - depth consultations between european and asian partners and has prompted a range of co - operation initiatives. for example, in april this year the ecb will be organising a seminar on “ regional economic, financial and monetary co - operation : the european and asian experiences ”. of course, i would also like to recall that the eu has long been in favour of china joining the world trade organisation, as it now has done, for which i should like to congratulate you. on a bilateral basis, four summit meetings between the eu and chinese leaders have been held since 1998. leaders exchanged views on eu - china relations