STORY: German, French firms bullish on investing in China
DATELINE: June 26, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:01
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of foreign companies in China
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MILAN NEDELJKOVIC, Member of board of management of BMW AG
3. various of the foreign companies in China
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BENOIT BAZIN, CEO, Saint-Gobain Group
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MAGGIE CHAN, Managing director of Sephora Greater China
6. various of views in China

STORYLINE:

German, French business representatives have said that great success has been achieved with the deepening of economic and trade cooperation, and that they will continue to invest in China in the future.

According to the German Economic Institute report released in March, China has been Germany's most important trading partner for seven years in a row. German corporations invested a record 11.5 billion euros in China in 2022.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MILAN NEDELJKOVIC, Member of board of management of BMW AG
"The Chinese market is very strong. It's dynamic and resilient. So right now it's growing, and that's a very strong potential for investments. The approach of China to modernization is changing significantly the environment and the circumstances. So there is a significant opportunity for investments of foreign companies, which gives the win-win situation for both China and the investors."

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said that 36 Chinese and French enterprises inked 18 agreements to expand cooperation in areas including manufacturing, green development, new energy and innovation at a meeting of Chinese and French entrepreneurs in April in Beijing.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BENOIT BAZIN, CEO, Saint-Gobain Group
"China is a fast-growing market and economy for us. So a lot of energy, a lot of talents. It gives me a lot of confidence for the future."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MAGGIE CHAN, Managing director of Sephora Greater China
"This is a very attractive market to continue to invest and to develop. Sephora sees China as a very important market. It is also a strategic market the group is investing in continuously."

Data from China's Ministry of Commerce showed new investment from European companies in China rose by 70 percent to 12.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Last year, China-EU bilateral trade hit a new high of 847.3 billion dollars.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)