STORY: German "hidden champion" hails China's pursuit of circular economy
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage 
DATELINE: May 23, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:01
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of economic activities
2. SOUNDBITE (English): RAFAEL SUCHAN, CEO of Vastalta Circular Technology
3. various of economic activities

STORYLINE:

An increasing number of German enterprises, particularly "hidden champions," are actively pursuing new opportunities for industrial collaboration in China.

Rafael Suchan, CEO of Vastalta Circular Technology, one of German "hidden champions," has hailed China's efforts to advance the circular economy in a recent interview, noting that China is becoming a technology leader in the area of electric vehicles.

SOUNDBITE (English): RAFAEL SUCHAN, CEO of Vastalta Circular Technology
"China's circular economy and the recycling of end-of-life materials is becoming more and more important. 
Circular economy is very important because it is the fastest and easiest way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. And if we look at the commitment of the Chinese government to reach the carbon peak in 2030, and reach carbon neutrality by 2060, circular economy and recycling play a very big role.
So if we look at high-quality productivity, this is necessary in order to have a higher value add in the production area. So moving now much more into the area of higher quality productivity means that China can also get a much better value add from those products.
The most famous example is maybe the electric vehicles (EVs). China in this area is a technology leader. It's still a very competitive market, which also requires that the technology is upgraded continuously. This comes back again to the topic of higher value or higher quality productivity. Only if you have the best technology you can survive in the market."

"Hidden champions" refer to highly successful yet lesser-known small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are global leaders in terms of market share in their respective niches, with Germany currently boasting nearly 500 such enterprises.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)