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Ralf Brandstätter VW China

Ralf Brandstaetter will become VW's new board member for China

Staff changes at VW: Ralf Brandstaetter, the former head of the core VW brand, becomes the group's new China board member. He is supposed to secure the company's market leadership in China. It is said to relieve Herbert Diess, the Group's battered CEO, of some of his workload. But he will also lose influence. And Audi China is getting a new president in the process.

By Redaktion Table

Jens Hildebrandt, Geschäftsführendes Vorstandsmitglied der Deutschen Handelskammer in China für Nordchina (AHK)

Jens Hildebrandt: 'Who is supposed to identify forced labor in a system like China?'

This week, Brussels was supposed to present its approach to an EU supply chain law - but the presentation of the Commission's proposal was postponed. Meanwhile, the German supply chain law has been passed and will come into force in just over a year. How are companies in China preparing for implementation? There are still a lot of unanswered questions, including how human rights violations will be detected in the first place, says Jens Hildebrandt. The interview was conducted by Amelie Richter.

By Amelie Richter

Climate plan for the economy: realism instead of ambition

To achieve the pledged contribution to the climate target, China's industries would have to rapidly reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. However, the Five-Year Climate Plan for the sector that has now been presented does not utilize its full capacity. Are the planners already preparing to overachieve in the socialist tradition?

By Nico Beckert

Lithuania versus China – an example of economic coercion

David versus Goliath: The dispute between Beijing and Lithuania has reached a new level. For several days, Chinese customs blocked goods from the Baltic EU state. Shortly before the presentation of the EU's instrument against economic coercion, China is thus providing a prime example of a possible application of the new EU instrument. Details of this defense mechanism have yet to be worked out. Experts warn that member states could dilute it.

By Amelie Richter

US boycott forces hand of traffic lights coalition

The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. As expected, China's reaction is furious. But Washington expects the new German government to take a stand as well. That could prove difficult.

By Felix Lee

20 years of China's WTO accession: Clinton's big mistake

China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 was met with high hopes in the Western world. The integration of the emerging country into the multilateral organization was supposed to promote not only global prosperity, but also free entrepreneurial activity in China. These hopes were largely disappointed. Although prosperity has increased, China is still not a free market economy.

By Felix Lee

Beijing plans to plug loopholes for overseas IPOs

Through VIE companies, Chinese firms can trade their shares on foreign stock exchanges. The authorities now plan to crack down on this. They are concerned that domestic tech companies working with sensitive data could become too international.

By Ning Wang

The struggle about the interpretation of the word 'democracy'

The USA is hosting a "democracy summit" this week. Naturally, China is not invited. Beijing is outraged and brands the United States' behavior as hegemonic striving, just like during the Cold War. But more importantly, on Saturday the Chinese leadership presented a white paper on its own democracy. The People's Republic wants to challenge the West's interpretation of the term.

By Michael Radunski

Feng Xingliang/ CEO-Talk 06. Dezember 2021

'Germany remains attractive for China'

Feng Xingliang knows the reasons why Germany continues to be attractive for Chinese companies. The honeymoon for acquisition bids may be long over, but the 57-year-old, former European head of Chinese construction machinery manufacturer Sany in Germany, speaks with Frank Sieren about the fact that knowledge transfer does not stem from acquisitions and what other mistakes Chinese companies should beware of.

By Frank Sieren

Outrage at the courage of the WTA

China is fuming over the cancellation of all women's tennis tournaments in the country. Above all, the Global Times berates the WTA. This shows above all: The suspension has had an effect, the case of Peng Shuai can no longer be cheated out of the world. Meanwhile, the debate about a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics is growing louder. The IOC is maneuvering.

By Christiane Kuehl