Will China threaten German machinery manufacturing?

In the past two years, Germany’s machinery manufacturing industry has been relying on a surge in exports to China that will not overwhelm the year-end results. At the same time, China quietly developed into a competitor of German machinery manufacturers. To this end, the German Federation of Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing carried out a comprehensive survey of the current status and development potential of China's machinery manufacturing sectors. “What disturbed me in the survey was the number of engineers in China who are training. They will certainly play an important role in the future. And the quality of those engineers has slightly eased my unease.” This is the German machinery and equipment manufacturing alliance. Chairman Klingeberg commented on the survey organized by the federation.

The survey was jointly conducted by the Inverpse Foundation, a subsidiary of the Federation of Mechanical Equipment Manufacturers, and Dürger International Management Consulting and the University of Darmstadt. According to their understanding, in China, one in every two undergraduates is registered in the engineering profession, compared with only 15% in Germany. The quality of education in China cannot of course be the same as that of Germany, but the Chinese are catching up. The scientific gap between China and Germany in the field of engineering has been shortened to five years.

In the past few years, China's annual economic growth rate reached an average of 8%, which caused China's machinery and equipment fever. At present, China has developed into the world's fourth-largest machinery manufacturing country. The mechanical equipment produced in China so far has been mainly supplied to the domestic market, but this situation may change at any time. According to a survey of the German Federation of Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing, China will begin to have an oversupply in machinery in 2005. In that case, the Chinese will be forced to reduce imports, which will adversely affect German machinery manufacturers.

In 2003, China imported 6.2 billion euros of machinery and equipment from Germany, second only to the United States and France, and became the third largest importer of German machinery. In the first four months of 2004, China's machinery and equipment imported from Germany increased by 17% over the same period in 2003. However, China may also try to export its domestic machinery and equipment, which will surely conflict with Germany, a major exporter of machinery.

Klingelberger of the German Federation of Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing attaches great importance to the threat from China: "In the low-end products, we will obviously feel the competition from China. We must formulate countermeasures, or we must form an alliance with China, or we will In some parts, some of the production is transferred to China, and in the low- and medium-price sectors, the Chinese people will bring us great pains, and in the high-priced areas, our strategy is very clear: invest more in research and invest in new technologies. We will maintain our leading position. If this is not the case, then in the high-priced and high-tech fields, the Chinese will also put pressure on us."

The German Federation of Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing is also planning to awaken its members through this comprehensive investigation and urge them to respond in a timely manner. Now that they have enough time, Chinese-made machinery and equipment still do not have the quality to participate in international competition. Therefore, the Chinese intend to carry out international cooperation, especially cooperation with Germany. Germany's cutting-edge technology coupled with China's low labor force is an ideal combination for the Chinese.

According to Joachim Ilke, who is in charge of the above investigation, China has not yet threatened the machinery manufacturing industry in Germany: “The Chinese lack of experience in the Western market, lack of management experience, lack of cutting-edge technologies and development of cutting-edge technologies. They also have not paid serious attention to international competition. Their attitude is very relaxed. In their view, the sooner or later will belong to China, just as it was a few hundred years ago."