'Better off thanks to China': German companies double down on resurgent giant

BERLIN - German industrial robot-maker Hahn Automation plans to invest millions of euros in new factories in China over the next three years, keen to capitalise on an economy that's rebounding more rapidly than others from the COVID-19 crisis.

"Our goal is to make up to 25 percent of our sales in China by 2025," he told Reuters, up from roughly 10 percent now.

German industry is deepening ties with China, which battled the pandemic with stricter measures than other countries, moved out of a first lockdown earlier and saw demand rebound more quickly.

Olaf Kiesewetter, CEO of car sensor supplier UST in Thuringia in eastern Germany, shares the same ambition of making 25 percent of sales in China.

"We clearly notice that China has come out of the crisis with force," he told Reuters, adding that China had already become UST's biggest export market outside the European Union a couple of years ago, accounting for 15 percent of sales.

"Without China, our business in the third quarter wouldn't have been so good. So there is no doubt that we're better off thanks to China."