Interview: Chinese market innovation-leading, very attractive, says Siemens CEO

BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- China is the world's largest industrial market, and Siemens highly values the opportunities offered by the development of the Chinese market, said Roland Busch, president and CEO of Siemens AG, in a recent interview here with Xinhua.

Noting that the Chinese market is "very attractive" to Siemens, Busch told Xinhua that Siemens will continue to expand its manufacturing capacities in China, strive to provide better products and services to more Chinese partners, improve research and development (R&D) efforts, and actively participate in the high-quality development of China's economy.

Digitalization plays a crucial role in the global economy and will transform the market from sectors of industrial manufacturing, energy system, infrastructure and healthcare, said Busch, noting that China is the largest industrial market in the world and has "huge potential" to tap.

With the transformation to digitalization in all sectors, China has the potential to develop into "a leading market in driving the digitalization of the industry," said Busch, underscoring that the high adoption rate of digital technologies and the acceptance of using digital technologies is so high in China.

"We see the Chinese market also is an innovation-leading market," said Busch, believing that China plays a key role in the global transition to the digital economy and will lead the digital transformation in the industrial sector.

Describing the Chinese market as "innovation-leading," Busch said "We are investing more because local development of solutions is of essence you have here."

While continuing to invest in China to increase production capacity, Siemens is also deploying local R&D centers and increasing R&D efforts, so as to be closer to customers and better meet market demands. In addition, Siemens has also built a digital factory in China to promote the development and implementation of a large number of application software products in China.

This is Busch's second visit to China this year as he participated in the Siemens Digital Economy Forum which opened in Beijing on Wednesday. At the forum, Siemens announced the launch of the fourth-phase expansion project of the Chengdu digital factory, with an investment of 140 million euros (153 million U.S. dollars) in new fixed assets, which is expected to greatly increase the factory's production capacity after it is put into operation.

When asked about the expansion, Busch said that "Our strategy is based on the market opportunities." The expansion is part of the strategy to "serve the local growth opportunities in China, for China," according to the company.

Noting that there are more than 48 million small and medium size enterprises in China and they have a huge demand for digital transformation, he said Siemens is optimistic about this vast market. The company launched the open digital business platform Siemens Xcelerator at the China International Import Expo last year, hoping to benefit more Chinese small and medium size enterprises by providing a complete technical framework.

The Chinese market is promoting digital transformation and sustainable development, and the comprehensive automation, digitalization, and low-carbon products and solutions launched by Siemens are very consistent with the needs of the Chinese market, said Busch.