STORY: A Chinese county-level city packed with German enterprises
DATELINE: Oct. 19, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:23
LOCATION: TAICANG, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Taicang
2. SOUNDBITE (English): ANDREAS HORNFISCHER, General manager of E.G.O. Components (China) Co., Ltd.
3. various of Taicang

STORYLINE:

Taicang in east China's Jiangsu Province, which boasts the presence of almost 500 German companies and German investments of more than 6 billion U.S. dollars, has earned the nickname "Little Germany."

Beginning in the 1990s, the county-level city spent 14 years drawing its initial 100 German investors, but it only took about three years to increase the number to 400 from 2018's 300.

Located less than 50 km from Shanghai, many German companies have eyed the logistics potential of Taicang. Besides, the Taicang Port also offers easier and cheaper logistics for companies to import and export raw materials and products.

SOUNDBITE (English): ANDREAS HORNFISCHER, General manager of E.G.O. Components (China) Co., Ltd.
"(We) initially started in Shanghai and then decided to relocate in 2012 to Taicang. At that time, there were already a lot of German companies in Taicang. It is more and more obvious that Taicang is providing a good business environment.
You are welcome to settle down and it's not like you constantly ask and hit a wall and don't know how to continue. It's actually the opposite. It's around 500 German enterprises already settling down in Taicang. We are mainly a German community."

Over the past three decades, more than 90 percent of German companies in Taicang have either increased their investments or expanded their production, and they contributed eight percent to the city's annual GDP, as reported by the local government.

The figures highlight the success of German companies in Taicang and also underscore the city's commitment to facilitating their growth.

The city cut down 70 percent of the administrative approval procedures and simplified 72 percent of the checklists for applications.

Over the past 30 years, Taicang has consistently strengthened its partnership with Germany, expanding from economic collaboration to encompass broader areas like culture, education, and sports.

The city has hosted events such as beer festivals, marathons, and Sino-German artist salons for over a decade, and Germany's renowned "dual-track" education system has found a seamless fit in Taicang, making it an increasingly desirable place of residence for Germans.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Taicang, China.
(XHTV)