Chinese investments in Germany and the peculiarities of the Chinese approval procedure in China

After the large German companies have been represented in China for a long time, it is mainly medium-sized German companies that are currently investing in China. They benefit from the enormous growth of the national economy there. More than 5,000 German companies have already ventured into China and invested around 27 billion euros in the People's Republic by the end of 2011. Chinese investors have so far been more reluctant to invest in Germany. Both the complexity of Chinese approval procedures in China and the decision-making processes of Chinese investors in Germany should not be underestimated.

The status quo

Germany has maintained permanent economic relations with the People's Republic of China since 1972. Last year, 2012, German companies already exported goods worth 66.6 billion euros to the East Asian country. Germany is by far China's most important trading partner in Europe.

Foreign investment by Chinese investors has so far been more restrained. Internal political objectives were focused on preserving the country's own raw materials and stabilizing national enterprises. However, this trend began to tip. New central economic objectives from Beijing paved the way abroad. Whereas in 2003, foreign investment amounted to just under 19 million euros. In 2011, the figure was already over EUR 386 million, and in 2012 it was almost EUR 472 million.

A recent study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung predicts that Chinese investments in Germany alone will grow to more than 1.5 billion euros annually by 2020. The Chinese particularly appreciate German know-how, well-established sales structures and the globally successful and leading positioning of German companies and their products. Well-known brands and Germany's location in Europe are conducive factors that encourage investors to make technology transfers and increase interest in German patents. German companies, for their part, welcome cooperation with the Chinese. On the one hand, the Asian market is considered the market of the future. On the other hand, Chinese investors are increasingly seen by German business owners as welcome anchor investors to solve their own business succession problems.