German enterprises plan to increase investments in China: report

Participants attend the opening ceremony of the China-Germany (China-Europe) Hidden Champions Forum 2025 in Beijing, capital of China, May 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Over half of German enterprises surveyed plan to increase their investments in China within the next two years, according to a report issued at a three-day forum for Sino-German industrial cooperation and development that ended Tuesday in Beijing.

Titled "2025 China-Germany Hidden Champions Open Cooperation Report," the document was released during the China-Germany (China-Europe) Hidden Champions Forum 2025.

It also reveals that German and European hidden champions still have more than double the current growth potential in the Chinese market.

The report was jointly released by the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission (ICC) and the DEZ German European Centre for SME Cooperation in China. The forum attracted over 600 participants from China and abroad, with the number of international attendees nearly doubling year on year.

Hidden champions refer to highly successful yet lesser-known small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are global leaders in terms of market share in their respective niches.

According to Peng Jian, an expert with the ICC, the distinctive Sino-German industrial parks in China have fostered a thriving ecosystem for German companies, creating a synergistic development model that complements industrial and supply chain strengths of Chinese and German enterprises. Notably, 36 percent of surveyed firms expressed intentions to accelerate R&D and innovation activities in China.

Hans-Peter Friedrich, former vice president of the German Bundestag and chairman of the Germany-China Parliamentary Group, said that not investing in China means missing out on prime access to Asia's vast regional market.