Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) called for “derisking” decisions to be taken by companies rather than governments during a trip to Germany that is designed to stabilize ties with the European economic powerhouse.
“Enterprises have the most direct and acute sense of risks and they know how to avoid and handle them,” Li told representatives from about a dozen German companies in Berlin on Monday afternoon, Xinhua news agency reported.
“So, enterprises should be given back the leadership role in preventing risks,” he said.
Photo: AFP
The Chinese premier added that risk prevention and cooperation are “not mutually exclusive,” the report said.
Representatives from companies including Siemens Ltd, Volkswagen AG, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, BMW AG, Schaeffler AG, BASF SE, Covestro AG, Wacker Chemie AG, Merck KGaA, SAP and Allianz SE attended the meeting.
US President Joe Biden and his European allies’ stated desire to “derisk” from the Chinese economy has resulted in a push to strip China from high-tech supply chains with potential military applications.
Western democracies have also increasingly been looking to “friend-shore” manufacturing since the COVID-19 pandemic and amid rising geopolitical tensions.
‘DECOUPLING’
China does not see the difference between “derisking” and “decoupling,” with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) telling a news conference in Germany last month: “If the EU seeks to decouple from China in the name of derisking, it will decouple from opportunities, cooperation, stability and development.”
Li has chosen Germany — one of Europe’s more pragmatic nations on the China risk — as the first stop of his inaugural overseas trip as premier.
On Monday, he met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before dining with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the evening, ahead of the seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation yesterday.
His visit has raised concerns that Chinese officials could try to influence the final wording of Berlin’s updated China strategy, which is due to be presented at the beginning of next month.
China is stepping up efforts to engage business leaders from nations that Beijing is sparring with on everything from trade to Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week told Microsoft Corp cofounder Bill Gates that the foundation of bilateral ties between China and the US “lies among the people.”
Senior Chinese Communist Party leaders last month rolled out the red carpet for a slew of luminaries, including Tesla Inc founder Elon Musk and JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon.
That engagement comes as foreign direct investment into China has plummeted, with investors pulling US$30 billion out in the first quarter.
FRENCH TALKS
Li is also heading to France this week for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
He could also have the opportunity to speak to US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen in Paris, as both are scheduled to attend a development finance summit in the French capital this week.
AI AIM: The chipmaker wants joint research and development programs with the Czech Republic, and the government is considering supporting investments in a Czech location Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is planning to build more plants in Europe with a focus on the market for artificial intelligence (AI) chips as the chipmaker expands its global footprint, a senior Taiwanese official said. “They have started construction of the first fab in Dresden; they are already planning the next few fabs in the future for different market sectors as well,” National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) told Bloomberg TV in an interview that aired yesterday. Wu did not specify a timeline for TSMC’s further expansion in Europe. TSMC in an e-mailed statement said it
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
WEAK DEMAND: A further decline in China’s consumer price index has prompted renewed calls for fiscal stimulus before deflationary expections become entrenched China’s consumer inflation unexpectedly eased last month, while producer price deflation deepened, heightening pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus measures quickly to revive flagging demand and shaky economic activity. Chinese Minister of Finance Lan Foan (藍佛安) told a news conference on Saturday there would be more “counter-cyclical measures” this year, but officials did not provide details on the size or timing of the fiscal stimulus being prepared, which investors hope would ease deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier last month, the slowest in three months, compared with