adoption is therefore essential, so as to ensure the sustainable compliance with nominal convergence criteria, because a single currency area is no place for economies with competitiveness issues or rigid markets. last but not least, the changes to the euro area governance framework for solving the deficiencies highlighted by the crisis need to stand the test of applicability. only one year ago, professor issing insisted that the euro area prosperity was conditional on the observance of the rules of the club by its members. the turn that the greek crisis has taken is relevant for the effectiveness of the new institutional architecture of the euro area. unfortunately, the expectations that the riga summit should bring us closer to an orderly resolution have not been confirmed. iv. should we be concerned, should we think positively or should we use our sense of humour? currently, the debates over the present and future of the euro area are dominated by the assessment of the situation in greece. for us, as eu members having not yet joined the euro area, these debates also raise the question of whether we should be very much concerned or take a positive, constructive approach. although the trials and tribulations caused by the situation in greece have often been described as a conflict between two totally different mentalities – namely, the teutonic strictness versus the levantine easygoingness – my view is that it is an overstatement, just like any generality. i remember bis central bankers ’ speeches the speech our distinguished guest delivered at the end of his ecb tenure and the fact that the closing remarks showed not only a good sense of humour, but also a subtle comprehension of the manner in which physical distances and especially distances in time alter the assessment of individuals and, if i may add, of events. please allow me to read the final part of the aforementioned speech, which presents the timeline of the news published by le moniteur concerning the return of napoleon from his exile on elba island : 10 march – “ the corsican ogre has landed at cape juan ” ; 11 march – “ the tiger is in gap. troops are on their way and will stop him. he will end his miserable adventure as a homeless refugee in the mountains ” ; 12 march – “ the monster succeeded in proceeding to grenoble ” ; 13 march – “ the tyrant is now in lyon. horror has caught the people ” ; 18 march – “ the usurper is some days ’ march distant from paris ” ; 19 march – “ bonaparte approaches in a

improvement. the world bank ’ s annual doing business report examines business regulations in, at last count, 189 economies on the basis of 36 indicators. china is currently ranked in 90th place. there is therefore still room for improvement. this can be achieved, for instance, by forging ahead with agreements to use common standards and dismantling barriers to market entry. achieving a mutual understanding of corporate culture in the various markets can be aided through personal contact. more and more chinese delegations are coming to germany every year. one of the objectives of these visits is to examine and gain an understanding of small and medium - sized family businesses and their structures. after all, this organisational structure is often cited as a blueprint in reforming the chinese growth model – even though it could never be adopted in every single aspect. in china, it is intended that a corps of small and mediumsized private enterprises will provide “ new ”, more qualitative growth and boost the innovative power and competitiveness of chinese enterprises. over the past decade, china has been attempting, through various channels, to support the established enterprises by offering fiscal incentives such as tax breaks. at a meeting between the chinese president and the federal chancellor during the former ’ s visit in march 2014, both countries agreed to establish a high - level financial dialogue. this took place for the first time in the spring of this year in berlin. the aim of the meeting between the finance ministries and the central banks is to institutionalise cooperation, also in financial matters. this concerns, among other things, not only issues of financial supervision and regulation, but also international cooperation within the g20. an outcome of the meeting is that assistance is to be provided for investment by small and medium - sized enterprises and the cross - border settlement of securities and derivatives is to be made easier. i expect that these trade relations will become even closer and that financial relations, too, will continue to deepen. bis central bankers ’ speeches