How do you view the economic growth target of around 5.5% proposed in the government work report by the Chinese Premier of the State Council?
Rob Smith, the new CEO of the global industrial forklift giant KION Group, recently accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency and expressed his firm belief that the Chinese government will continue to implement all necessary policies to ensure that the During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's economic growth rate can be maintained at a sustainable level.
He believes that promoting common prosperity and other policies will continue to promote China's domestic consumption growth, and there is reason to be confident in the development potential of China's economy.
The picture shows Rob Smith (file picture) Photo courtesy of the interviewee issued by China News Agency
China News Agency, Berlin, March 7th: Interview with KION CEO: full of confidence in China's economic development potential
China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei
How do you view the economic growth target of around 5.5% proposed in the government work report by the Chinese Premier of the State Council?
Rob Smith, the new CEO of the global industrial forklift giant KION Group, recently accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency and said that he firmly believes that the Chinese government will continue to implement all necessary policies to ensure that this year and the entire During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's economic growth rate can be maintained at a sustainable level.
He believes that promoting common prosperity and other policies will continue to promote China's domestic consumption growth, and there is reason to be confident in the development potential of China's economy.
The KION Group is a leading global provider of industrial vehicles and supply chain solutions.
By the end of 2021, the KION Group has sold a total of about 1.6 million industrial vehicles around the world, with about 8,000 installed systems.
The KION Group currently employs around 40,000 people and generates revenues of EUR 10.3 billion in fiscal 2021.
The KION Group is the largest overseas supplier of forklift trucks and storage technology in China.
"We are very impressed by China's 8.1% economic growth rate last year." Talking about the completion of the main goals and tasks mentioned in the Chinese government work report for the year, and the main expected development goals for this year, Rob Smith said that KION is very much looking forward to it. China's economy continues to achieve steady growth.
In his view, the Chinese government is transforming its economic growth model towards high-quality development by increasing investment in high-end technology, and the development of 5G technology is one example.
"We believe that policies including promoting common prosperity will continue to promote China's domestic consumption growth. I have full confidence in the development potential of China's economy." Rob Smith believes that the Chinese government will continue to implement all necessary policies to ensure that this year And throughout the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's economic growth rate can be maintained at a sustainable level.
"Overall, I am very optimistic about the future development of the Chinese economy. China is an important market with strong performance, and we are confident that we will see continued growth in this market."
In response to the government work report's mention of "promoting carbon neutrality in an orderly manner", Rob Smith said that there is no conflict between the ambitious dual carbon goals and the achievement of economic growth goals.
"In fact, on the contrary, I think the Chinese government sees a very exciting opportunity from the dual carbon goal, which is reflected in the investment in green new technologies that will drive further economic growth." Rob Smith pointed out as an example , China's electric vehicle market has achieved very rapid growth.
"China is on the right track, striking a good balance between climate goals and economic goals through the use of new technologies."
"In this sense, we see that there is no contradiction between ensuring economic growth in China and achieving the dual-carbon goal. In fact, the rapid development on the green high-tech end is supporting China's strong economic growth," he said.
Gordon Riske, the former CEO of KION Group, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency in November last year that the Chinese market is and will be critical to KION.
He pointed out at the time that China has shown great foresight in recent decades and will continue to develop long-term on this basis, and China's new development pattern will also bring new opportunities for international companies like KION.
"I completely agree with what Mr. Liske said. This point is absolutely applicable today." Rob Smith said that for KION Group, China is an extremely important and attractive market.
He said that China is the largest single market in the field of material handling in the world, and it is in a very rapid growth stage in terms of automation and internal materials, which is a very important part of KION's business. Even during the new crown epidemic, the Chinese market is still successful. It has maintained strong growth, which is also an important driving force for the growth of the KION Group.
Rob Smith, who has served as a senior executive in several well-known multinational companies, said that in the past 30 years, he has been to China "many, many times". "The companies I have served have also had important business dealings with China."
He sighed that in the process of dealing with China, the people here, the economic environment here, and the thriving business here made him "very appreciated".
"We expect the Chinese economy to maintain this growth momentum, have full confidence in the Chinese market, and fully commit to further investment in China and grow together with the Chinese market. This is a very important part of our corporate strategy." Rob Smith said.
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