China News Agency, Berlin, August 1 (Reporter Peng Dawei) The government of North Rhine-Westphalia recently awarded the 2021 North Rhine-Westphalia Investment Award to China Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd.
During the interview, a reporter from China News Agency learned that a large number of Chinese companies, represented by Xiaomi, have made great achievements in investing in the German economic state of North Rhine-Westphalia in recent years, and have made positive contributions to the local area to overcome the impact of the new crown epidemic and maintain healthy economic development. .
North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the western part of Germany. It is the state with the largest population and the largest economy in Germany.
According to data provided by the Chinese Consulate General in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia is the "double champion" of German trade and two-way investment in China, and it is also the region with the highest concentration of Chinese-funded enterprises in Germany.
Currently, North Rhine-Westphalia has more than 1,000 enterprises and projects in China; there are more than 1,100 Chinese enterprises and institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The "North Rhine-Westphalia Investment Award" is jointly selected by the German North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Economic Affairs and the International Business Administration to commend foreign companies that have made outstanding contributions to the state's economic development. Since 2003, it has been selected for 17 sessions.
Chinese companies such as Sany Heavy Industry, XCMG, Huawei, Zhuzhou Diamond Cutting, Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd., and Xiaomi have won awards.
Among them, Huawei has become the largest foreign partner of Deutsche Telekom headquartered in Bonn, and is working hand in hand with Duisburg to build a local smart city model.
Xiaomi's first offline flagship store of Mi Home in Germany officially opened in 2020 in the old town of Düsseldorf, the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has become the third largest smartphone brand in Germany in just one year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese companies investing in North Rhine-Westphalia still achieved good operating performance.
The German branch of TP-Link, the world’s leading provider of network communication equipment, was established in April 2008. It has entered all mainstream consumer electronics channels in Western European markets such as Germany, and is now available on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. A category occupies a leading position.
The reporter learned from the company that in 2020, it will overcome the impact of the epidemic, and its sales in the German local market will increase by more than 50%, achieving sales of about 90 million US dollars. This year, as of May, the sales in the German market have been compared with the same period last year. The ratio increased by more than 90%.
The Minister of Economy of North Rhine-Westphalia Pinkwalter stated that foreign economic cooperation, including foreign investment, has played an important role in increasing employment, promoting innovation and promoting economic development in North Rhine-Westphalia. Award-winning companies have made special contributions to the economic development of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In 2020, North Rhine-Westphalia's economy was hit by the new crown epidemic, but the employment and economic development situation is still good. An important reason is that foreign economic cooperation, including foreign trade exports, has maintained growth. This is also due to the rapid recovery of China's economic growth and the cooperation China has a deep-rooted cooperative relationship for many years.
Feng Haiyang, Consul General of China in Dusseldorf, said that smartphones are no longer Xiaomi’s only expertise. The company is currently providing a variety of advanced equipment for the world’s largest IoT platform and will use it to further develop the German market.
"Xiaomi’s success story has just begun. I hope and believe that Xiaomi will use this award as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results."
The reporter also noticed that in addition to high-tech companies and industrial companies, liquor companies that reflect the Chinese lifestyle are now actively entering the North Rhine-Westphalia market.
The first overseas experience store of China Fenjiu has recently settled in Cologne, a famous city in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Former Minister of Economy of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ernst Schwanhold, said that this is a symbol of friendship between Germany and China, which not only opens up new opportunities for economic cooperation between the two sides, but is also a new window for cultural exchanges.
Pinkwalter emphasized that it is great to see that North Rhine-Westphalia continues to maintain its position as the most concentrated region of Chinese-funded enterprises in Germany. Chinese companies’ investment in North Rhine-Westphalia also continues to show outstanding characteristics of rapid growth and high success rate. It is a vivid example that enterprises have won the "North Rhine-Westphalia Investment Award" many times.
He said that North Rhine-Westphalia will unswervingly meet with China to further promote two-way investment and play a pioneering role in Germany-China relations.
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