Brussels/Frankfurt, 31 March 2022 – Commenting on the upcoming EU-China Summit, Ulrich Ackermann, Head of the Foreign Trade Department at VDMA, says:

“The European Union is in a complicated phase of its relations with China. The EU must stand by its interests and values. On the one hand, this means influencing China to refrain from supporting Russia in the brutal war in Ukraine. On the other hand, the European mechanical engineering industry needs a level playing field with China. The country is the second largest export market for machinery exports from Germany and at the same time the second largest foreign investment location for the German capital goods industry. We need a foreseeable end to the entry restrictions in China due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as market opening and stable investment conditions. The negotiated Investment Agreement between the EU and China would be a suitable instrument for this. However, as long as China does not end its sanctions against institutions and persons from the EU, the Agreement must remain on hold.

A photo of Ulrich Ackermann, Head of the Foreign Trade Department, can be found here.

Der VDMA vertritt mehr als 3400 deutsche und europäische Unternehmen des Maschinen- und Anlagenbaus. Die Industrie steht für Innovation, Exportorientierung und Mittelstand. Die Unternehmen beschäftigen rund vier Millionen Menschen in Europa, davon mehr als eine Million allein in Deutschland. Der Maschinen- und Anlagenbau steht für ein europäisches Umsatzvolumen von rund 800 Milliarden Euro. Im gesamten Verarbeitenden Gewerbe trägt er mit einer Wertschöpfung von rund 270 Milliarden Euro den höchsten Anteil zum europäischen Bruttoinlandsprodukt bei.