Hello everybody, I’m Ola Källenius. It’s a great pleasure to once again join the China Development Forum.
大家好，我是康林松。非常高兴再次参加中国发展高层论坛。
The ongoing Covid-19-pandemic and the global semiconductor shortage have negatively affected economic recovery and industrial production around the world. Despite these and other challenges, China managed to achieve an average growth rate of over 8.1% in 2021. I think that’s a great way to start into the Year of the Tiger. I truly appreciate this success as well as the rapid development in the area of new energy vehicles. With a total sales volume of 3 million in 2021, China’s NEV sales have more than doubled in comparison to 2020.
2021 was important for China in other ways, too. It marked the first year of China’s 14th Five-Year-Plan,which has started to shift the governance priorities from growth to balancing growth and sustainability.
I have been most impressed by the speed of China’s tremendous development in recent years. I frequently visited China in the past. And I enjoyed it very much. During each visit I could tell that great progress has been made since the last time I had been there. I’m thankful that our company could participate in and contribute to this incredible success story.
This year we are entering the third decade of our deepening localization in China since 2001. We believe this new chapter will be more fascinating than ever before, as we expect the biggest innovation and growth potential for the premium market in the next 10 years also to be here in China.
China has become our largest production base worldwide and plays a significant role in our global R&D network. And it is much more than that: It has long been an integral part of and major contributor to the goals of our long-term global strategy.
We endorse and support China’s policy for further opening-up its automotive industry and we believe that the implementation of this policy will create more success stories. This win-win cooperation will support the consolidation of global supply chains and the global economy as well as contribute to the further growth of the Chinese economy.
As China’s longstanding friend and partner, we will continue to grow in China, with China, for a shared future. Therefore, we will further increase both our investments in R&D and production as well as our footprint here.
Our new global R&D Tech Center China, which we opened last year in Beijing is a prime proof-point of our commitment. It focuses on major technological trends and innovations. Our colleagues at the Tech Center China will also greatly contribute to our efforts to localize our great NEV products.
With that in mind, we fully support China’s commitment and targets of de-carbonization. We believe it is strategically important for all countries to work closer on the topic of climate change.
I am convinced that the China Development Forum will continue to be an important bridge and exchange platform for Chinese policy makers, international businesses and academic circles. That holds particularly true this year with regard to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Germany.
I would like to end on a personal note. All my life I have been a big fan of winter sports, that’s why I very much enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics in Beijing. I want to congratulate everybody involved who contributed to this great event.
Watching the Winter Olympics has reinforced my wish to come to China very soon again. I personally would love to visit as frequently as I did in the past. I trust our countries will find a practical solution to enable cross-border travelling soon.
