Hamburg, May 3rd, 2004 -- The cooperation agreement concluded in 2003 with Germany's largest independent production company, SPIEGEL TV, is now bearing fruit: In late summer of 2004, the first joint television production "Chinas heritage – trade war on the high seas" will be broadcast by the TV station ZDF, Germany’s television market leader for evening programs. The film takes the audience on an adventure of maritime trade in Southeast Asia. There, during the past twenty years, Franck Goddio has discovered Chinese junks, Spanish galleons and English merchant vessels – each one linked to a tale of mystery about its sinking. The fates of the Chinese junk Lena, the Spanish galleon San Diego and the pride of the British East India Company, the Royal Captain, recall to mind trade wars at sea, voyages of discovery and the conquest of the world. Long before Europeans arrived in China, the Chinese had a firm grip on trade in Southeast Asia and the neighbouring regions. Impressive finds of customised porcelain and valuable stoneware on the junk Lena verify these facts. But, they did not remain hidden from the Europeans for long and the struggle for the best trading centres in the region began. Spain's involvement did not start until Magellan discovered the West Passage to the Pacific for the Spanish. The Manila trade then became the most persistent, perilous and profitable commercial enterprise in European trading history. In 1600 the San Diego fell victim to the fierce fighting that took place between the Spaniards and the Dutch in Manila. England joined this lucrative business only after the founding of the British East India Company under Elizabeth I and, in no time, became a world power in foreign trade. The wreckage of the Royal Captain, the pride of the fleet, was a financial catastrophe for the company and the trading base at Balambangan was closed down. This, however, did not stop the English from gaining ground, and the history of maritime trade, driven by ambition, continued to be written.