Don't worry about China, Bosch CEO: European countries should take time to increase the risk of EU competitiveness Europe | Risk | Time
[Global Times Special Correspondent Xin Bin] "Risk removal is not a good term," "You can't reduce risk by isolating yourself." Stefan Hartong, chairman and CEO of Germany's Bosch Group, Europe's largest auto parts supplier, told the Financial Times in an interview on the 29th.
In recent years, influenced by geopolitical factors, some European countries have become increasingly concerned about the dependence of enterprises on China, and have continuously mentioned the term "risk reduction". Earlier this month, Germany warned its domestic companies to reduce their dependence on China when releasing its first "China Strategy".
In response, Hatong stated that European governments should spend more time improving the competitiveness of the European Union, rather than focusing on the risks that companies may face when conducting business in China. He believes that in order for Europeans to maintain competitiveness, governments around the world should aim to improve the single market. In Hatong's view, there are still many problems within the 27 member group of the European Union, and resolving these issues as soon as possible is more conducive to the development of the EU. He said, "In many fields, you will find that barriers and import and export relations between European countries are sometimes even worse than doing business."
Last year, about half of Bosch's sales of 88.2 billion euros came from outside of Europe. According to Reuters, Bosch's sales in China account for approximately one-fifth of its global total sales. Over the past 10 years, Bosch's cumulative investment in the Chinese market has exceeded 50 billion yuan. The latest data released by Bosch Group shows that the sales revenue in the Chinese market reached 132.1 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of nearly 3%.
According to CNN, in January this year, Bosch announced an investment of approximately $1 billion in Suzhou to build a research and manufacturing base for core components of new energy vehicles and autonomous driving. "China is the world's largest automotive market, full of hope and vitality. As a multinational enterprise, we need to fully utilize the country's domestic research and production capabilities," Hartong said in a statement at the time. Bosch has been entering the Chinese market since 1909 and as of the end of 2022, has approximately 55000 employees in China.
Earlier this year, Konlinsong, Chairman and CEO of Mercedes Benz AG in Germany, emphasized in an interview with Bild that China has close relationships with major global economic players such as Europe and the United States, and decoupling from China is an unwise choice. He emphasized that in 2022, nearly one-fifth of the company's revenue came from China, and luxury car sales in the Chinese market accounted for one-third of the company's total global sales of luxury cars, making it meaningless to decouple from China.
