German companies in China have raised their revenue expectations, as business leaders look for deeper scientific collaboration and policy measures to boost domestic demand, according to a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce. The survey revealed that 84 percent of German companies operating in China expressed optimism about the country's evolving economic outlook. Speaking in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Oliver Oehms, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in China - North China, said China’s policy direction offers new opportunities for deeper collaboration. Beyond business confidence, green development has been a key area of focus during the ongoing "two sessions", one of China's most important annual political events. Oehms emphasized that sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles align closely with the strategies of German enterprises in China, adding that the German Chamber of Commerce has been actively promoting these efforts. German companies are also closely watching China's advancements in technology and industry, recognizing areas where they could benefit from collaboration. Oehms highlighted the growing investment by German companies in local value chains, particularly in research and development. Looking ahead, Oehms said policies set during the "two sessions" could provide new momentum for both German and Chinese businesses. The "two sessions", which refer to the annual meetings of China's highest organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), have gathered thousands of national lawmakers and political advisors from across the country for the concurrent gatherings. This year, the third session of the 14th NPC is set to open on March 5, while the third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee opened on March 4. Shotlist: Beijing, China - Recent: FILE: Beijing, China - Nov 28, 2024 1. Various of sign of Beijing China-Germany Industrial Park; Beijing, China - Recent 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Oehms, executive director, German Chamber of Commerce in China - North China: "Indeed, the recent business confidence survey that we published - and we have been doing this for seventeen consecutive years - showed that our member companies are looking more optimistic into the current year, into 2025. The German industry has been here in large numbers but also deep in terms of investment. A lot of German companies are manufacturing in China for China - altogether some 5,000 German companies - and they are here to stay. This is one important outcome of this survey. Hardly anyone is planning to leave the country, even though, as mentioned, the overall framework conditions are challenging, as much as they are for Chinese companies. So we hope that from the Two Sessions, there will be a message of optimism and encouragement, especially toward the private sector."; FILE: Shanghai, China - November 2024 3. Aerial shots of BASF plant, facilities; Beijing, China - Recent ; 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Oehms, executive director, German Chamber of Commerce in China - North China: "The broad range of ESG topics, especially the topic of sustainability, is very close to our hearts - to the hearts of German industry. There has been a very strong push, also from governments across the European Union, to invest in, let's say, greener value chains. And by the way, it's also something driven by market actors, especially financial market actors. So it's a topic which is here to stay, irrespective of the color code, also of the upcoming term government. So we see that the Chinese government - and we applauded that - has been very supportive of initiatives here in China, including the ones driven by German companies."; FILE: Dalian City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - November 2024 5. Aerial shots of Volkswagen Group Components (Dalian); 6. Various of robotic arms working, automobile parts; Beijing, China - Recent 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Oehms, executive director, German Chamber of Commerce in China - North China (partially overlaid with shots 8-9): "We have learned a lot in the last couple of years. It's an ongoing process, and we would love to engage more closely with our partners, be it in government or be it in the private sector. Well, we have to humbly acknowledge that the Chinese industry has made fantastic progress in mobility, artificial intelligence, etc. In many regards, we can learn from the experiences, the capacities of private and public, and government-owned companies in China."; [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Dalian City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - November 2024 8. Various of robotic arm, automatic production lines; engineers at work; FILE: Shanghai, China - June 11-12, 2023 9. Various of SAIC Volkswagen ID. cars on display; [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Taicang City, Jiangsu Province, east China - July 2024 10. Aerial shots of factory of Chiron Group; 11. Various of engineers at work; Beijing, China - Recent 12. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Oehms, executive director, German Chamber of Commerce in China - North China: "We see - and we referred earlier to the results of the business confidence survey - that German companies are currently investing in deeper local value chains, which especially covers innovation and R and D-driven activities. This is one way to benefit from the capacities here in the local market. We would also like to see stronger engagement [between] the scientific communities in Germany and China. Therefore, we would also like to encourage our incoming German government to look into this and to establish new fora [or] forums for this kind of exchanges, bridging, let’s say, economic actors and also the ones from the scientific field."; FILE: Beijing, China - Date Unknown 13. Aerial shot of office building of Mercedes-Benz; 14. Office building of Beijing Benz Automotive Company (BBAC); 15. Signs of Beijing Benz, Mercedes-Benz; Beijing, China - Recent 16. SOUNDBITE (English) Oliver Oehms, executive director, German Chamber of Commerce in China - North China (partially overlaid with shot 17): "We would love to see new policies - maybe also instruments and concrete measures - to reinvigorate [and] strengthen domestic demand. China has been very strong in triggering supply - Chinese supply. We have been benefiting from this as suppliers of technology, machinery, and know-how. Now, as we are here already, partly also serving local clients, building industry or private consumers who would love to see stronger demand, this would also be beneficial to Chinese private sector companies, and we are very much counting on the Two Sessions to pave the way forward. Hopefully, within the next six months, until the end of the year, we will be able to enjoy the harvest."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Beijing, China - Aug 2024 17. Various of Mercedes-Benz production line, robotic arms operating; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Shanghai, China - Date Unknown 18. Various of cityscape. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]