China News Agency, Berlin, November 8 (Reporter Peng Dawei) The global industrial forklift giant Gordon Riske, CEO of KION Group, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency that the Chinese market is now And the future is very important to KION.
He believes that China has shown great foresight in recent decades and will continue to develop long-term on this basis, and that China's creation of a new development pattern will also bring new opportunities for international companies such as KION.
As of the end of 2020, the KION Group has sold more than 1.6 million industrial vehicles around the world, has installed more than 6,000 systems, and has customers on six continents.
The group has a total of nearly 39,000 employees and revenues of 8.3 billion euros in fiscal year 2020.
KION Group is the largest overseas supplier in the field of forklift and warehousing technology in China.
In 2012, China Weichai Power became a shareholder of KION Group. Since then, it has increased its holdings of KION shares several times. The current shareholding ratio is 45.2%.
Gordon Liske emphasized that business relations are not a one-way street. As a successful representative of the German-Chinese cooperation and win-win partnership, the partnership between KION and Weichai is based on huge mutual trust and extensive common interests.
"Weichai is a very professional and committed business partner for us. While giving us significant support, it also provides us with free space for development, so that we can develop our business in the best way." He said, China's cooperation is of strategic significance for KION.
It has four factories in China, employing more than 4,600 full-time employees, and the fifth factory will be completed and put into operation soon.
In addition, KION also conducts extensive business cooperation with many Chinese companies.
"All of these are aimed at a win-win situation and ultimately benefit our global customers."
The latest financial report released by KION recently showed that the company's new car orders in the Asia-Pacific region in the first three quarters of this year increased by 39.9% year-on-year, and the Chinese market (up 39.4%) accounted for the largest proportion.
In this region, KION Group's counterbalanced forklift sales significantly outperformed the overall market growth rate, which was mainly driven by sales growth in China.
"China has quickly emerged from the shadow of the new crown crisis and remains one of the fastest growing material handling markets in the world." Talking about his views on the Chinese market, Gordon Lisk said that in the field of industrial forklifts, China is the world's largest Single market.
In addition, the company has also benefited from the booming development of China's e-commerce.
It is of strategic significance to continuously tap the opportunities in this market.
In response to the outside world’s doubts about China’s creation of a new development pattern, Gordon Liske believes that in today’s globalized environment, every government is facing challenges that vary from country to country, and it must be an inward-looking and an outward-looking economy. Find a healthy balance between development.
He pointed out that China has shown great foresight in recent decades and will continue to develop in the long run on this basis.
"It is normal to readjust the priorities according to the situation in different periods. One thing is certain: as the exchange of global goods and services increases, external logistics and internal logistics will become more and more important. This is for us The industry you work in offers great opportunities-especially in China."
Gordon Lisk recently responded to the question "Is China's investment in Germany dangerous" in a public speech, saying, "This is not a black and white question", "According to our experience, the more mutual respect between the two sides, Understanding each other and treating differences as opportunities, the more likely it is to benefit from each other."
"I have always appreciated the pragmatic spirit of Chinese friends, the decisiveness of decision-making and the courage to make continuous changes." He told reporters that mutual trust and respect for differences have always been the basis for successful cooperation, whether in European, American or Chinese culture.
KION also actively promotes exchanges between Germany and China and cultivates cross-cultural skills for managers and employees.
Germany's internationally renowned dual education system is a successful model for the company's employee training in China.
"In a globalized world, we rely on the cooperation of all countries and regions. We should not be too entangled in political differences. Only through mutual trust, cooperation and regular exchanges, can we make the world a good place to live. Good for children and grandchildren," he said.
Germany is undergoing post-election negotiations to form a cabinet, and a new federal government is about to be formed.
Looking forward to the German-Chinese economic, trade and investment cooperation in the post-Merkel era, Gordon Lisk said that for decades, German-Chinese relations have maintained stable and fruitful development, and the two governments will continue to shoulder heavy responsibilities.
"I hope that the new German government will continue this good tradition seamlessly. German foreign and economic policies have a high degree of continuity, even during the change of government-durability and reliability are the basic characteristics of our political system."
As a German entrepreneur who has visited China "many many times" in the past 25 years, Gordon Lisk said that China is "fascinating", "I have always been incredible about the tremendous development of this great country. I look forward to being in the new crown. If the epidemic (prevention measures) permits, return to China as soon as possible and visit many of my friends there." (End)