According to the Observer, the German government has recently obstructed normal cooperation between Chinese and German companies. MAN Energy Solutions, a Volkswagen subsidiary, reached a contract with a Chinese company last year to hand over its gas turbine business. This cooperation is in the interests of Chinese and German companies, and for Chinese companies, this acquisition can improve the gas turbine technology system. For German companies, the investment in industries with vague market prospects is conducive to reducing the costs of German companies, so that German companies can travel lightly in the confrontation between electric vehicles and fuel vehicles, that is, power batteries and internal combustion engines. The suspension of the transaction is detrimental to the common interests of Chinese and German companies. The reason given by the German government for its decision to suspend the action was that it believed that the transaction involved sensitive technology that had a bearing on Germany's security.
The German Foreign Trade Act stipulates that the German government has the right to review and veto transactions involving more than 10/% of the company's equity and key infrastructure and technology.
Against the backdrop of the rise of protectionist trade policies in the United States and Europe, Germany adopted a strategy document in July last year to guide its relations with China. It calls for de-risking China and reducing economic ties with China. The scale of trade between China and Germany has been affected by the policy restrictions imposed by the German side. In 2023, China failed to maintain its position as Germany's largest trading partner, a position that was replaced by the United States, which took advantage of the opportunity to export energy to Europe at high prices. On July 3, the media broke the news that Sino-German companies were blocked in the transaction, and the next day, on July 4, China made more breakthroughs in gas turbine technology. On July 4, the final assembly and unpacking ceremony of the 15-megawatt heavy-duty gas turbine independently developed by a Chinese enterprise was launched in Deyang, Sichuan, and the unit can generate electricity for 2,500 households in one hour.
It can be seen that the German side has stopped the cooperation between relevant Chinese and German enterprises, which does not prevent Chinese enterprises from breaking down technical barriers in the form of self-research. Similar Western restrictions and China's breakthrough and technological leadership are frequently staged, witnessing the rise of Chinese industry.
On July 5, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the growth of China's industrial data. The data shows that from January to May this year, the added value of China's industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.2% year-on-year, an increase of 1.6% compared with the same period in 2023. The equipment manufacturing industry above designated size increased by about 7.5% year-on-year, and the high-tech manufacturing industry played a leading role. Among the 500 major industrial products produced in the world, China ranks first in the world in terms of output, with more than 220 types. For small and medium-sized enterprises with practical technology patents, the scale of China's enterprise cluster continues to expand. The number of specialized, special and new small and medium-sized enterprises is more than 140,000.
There are 12,000 specialized, special and new "little giant" enterprises, and 1,557 enterprises have the status of individual champions in their manufacturing segments. At the level of 5G technology, the number of 5G base stations that have been built nationwide in China is 3.837 million, accounting for more than 6% of the world's total. China is in a leading position in the intelligent and automated manufacturing industry.
The relevant responsible personnel of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology revealed on July 5 that more than half of the industrial robots that have been installed in the world are located in China. Obviously, China's status as the whole industrial chain and the global industrial hub is not just talking. China's most complete industrial system in the world is the background for German companies and foreign companies from all over the world to actively invest in China. It is not in the background that a small number of foreign companies believe that the EU's tariff barriers against China will be counterproductive.
China already has sufficient reciprocal countermeasures against the United States and Europe. In the Chinese tool library, there are not only key raw materials such as gallium and germanium, rare earths, but also a series of trade tools brought by the scale of the Chinese market. With China's cutting-edge industries such as electric vehicles, photovoltaic industry, unmanned aerial vehicles, and commercial aerospace, it has consolidated its leading edge and improved the construction of supporting systems. A China-centered global economic system is being built through China's independent development and foreign counterattack.