A small city nicknamed "China's German town" is just a one-hour drive from the financial hub Shanghai. In January, the Taicang government presented its 500th German firm with a license.
German firms chose Taicang not only because of its location. What else makes the city so attractive to German business? In this episode of In-Focus, Chen Tong travels to the city to find out.
German firms chose Taicang not only because of its location. What else makes the city so attractive to German business? In this episode of In-Focus, Chen Tong travels to the city to find out.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Namely Shanghai, there is a small county-level city famous among the German community in China.
00:06 Guten Tag!
00:07 Ni Hao!
00:08 Kostik, Kostik.
00:09 It's home to 500 German firms, more than anywhere in the country.
00:14 We liked it.
00:15 German city in China.
00:17 How did the city of Taicang become the so-called German town of China?
00:22 We begin our journey from this bus route.
00:26 We are here in Taicang at the point of origin of the No. 103 bus line.
00:32 Check out the stop sign here.
00:34 Well, if you know Chinese, most of these signs are actually transliteration of German terms.
00:40 The route runs through East Nanjing Road, an industrial cluster for the automobile industry.
00:46 On this road, it's possible to find everything you need to produce an electric driving system
00:52 for vehicles.
00:54 The German terms we see on the board are Chinese names for some of these factories.
00:58 Our stop is called Kern Liebers, the first German firm that came to Taicang.
01:05 Guten Tag!
01:06 Ni Hao!
01:07 And welcome to Kern Liebers.
01:08 In 1993, the German manufacturer of car parts decided to set up a firm in China.
01:13 He chose Taicang because of the location.
01:16 Very close to the big cities, to the big hubs, port, airports, Shanghai.
01:21 We liked it.
01:23 Taicang has a population of only 850,000 people.
01:26 But it's only a one-hour drive from central Shanghai and sits along the Yangtze River.
01:32 The natural advantages of the city make it ideal for trading.
01:37 Are there any of the German companies that actually you recommended them to come?
01:41 Oh, I think plenty of those, yes.
01:43 Maybe not directly me, but in the beginning, I think Kern Liebers did a lot of advertising
01:50 for Taicang.
01:51 So companies like Fishtail, Mubea came because we recommended it.
01:56 Now I also do that.
01:57 In the 1990s, there were only a dozen German firms in Taicang,
02:02 but this figure jumped significantly in the 2000s.
02:05 But geography is not the only reason 500 firms have set up shop here.
02:11 One man, Duan Yueqiang, has played a key role.
02:17 Over the past 20 years, Duan has traveled to Germany at least once a year
02:22 only to attract more German investment.
02:24 His personal experience helps him understand German work culture.
02:29 First, they require high-end technologies.
02:32 Second, they require high-quality professionals who understand how to operate high-end machine
02:37 tools and possess foreign language proficiency to understand these drawings.
02:43 To help the firms find the employees they want,
02:45 Taicang has even imported a German education system called the Dual System.
02:51 This is an auto part.
02:54 It looks simple, right?
02:55 But making a perfect one needs workers years of experiences.
03:00 This is the training center at a German firm.
03:02 Students spend part of their time at a local vocational school
03:07 to develop their theoretical knowledge.
03:10 And the rest of the time they spend here learning the practicalities of the job.
03:14 Taicang currently has over 20 such training centers.
03:34 After studying for five years, these students remain at the firms to work.
03:40 The system also provides job opportunities to locals.
03:43 60% of jobs in Taicang are provided by German firms.
03:48 We need to supply 30 million high-pressure common rails a year
03:53 and require a high standard of consistency.
03:55 Small-sized firms can't ensure such high levels of consistency,
03:59 so we are still in short supply of skilled workers.
04:01 A survey published in January by the German Chamber of Commerce shows
04:08 over 90% of German companies operating in China would remain in the country.
04:13 It says close to 80% of the surveyed firms expect to see their industries grow in the next five years.
04:20 Based in Taicang for more than three decades,
04:23 the very first German firm in the city is still growing.
04:27 The industrial chain also, especially over the last decade,
04:31 become more and more convenient, better and better.
04:34 And not only if you look at, let's say, the factory suppliers or customers of us,
04:39 but also the infrastructure.
04:41 You have more and more schools, you have very big universities now.
04:45 The 500th German firm in Taicang was just presented its license this January.
04:50 For Duan Yueqiang, traveling to Germany is still part of his annual agenda.
04:55 I introduce our business environment and answer their questions about the Chinese market.
05:03 I understand their specific needs.
05:05 Taicang is offering a series of tailor-made services for German businesses.
05:10 And of course, lifestyle too.
05:12 Hello.
05:13 Hello.
05:14 These are the German bread?
05:16 Yes, complete authentic.
05:18 Erwin is among hundreds of Germans calling Taicang their new home.
05:22 At first, he came to Taicang for work,
05:25 but later quit his job and opened three bakeries in the city.
05:29 Do you think your bakery is also offering something to German people to think of their homes?
05:36 Ah, think of...
05:37 Yeah, maybe, yeah.
05:38 Because I mean, that's why I come here actually every day to one of my shops,
05:42 to be a... feel a little bit home.
05:45 Can I try?
05:46 Yes, you can try any.
05:48 This is called Brezel.
05:50 How do you say delicious in German?
05:52 Köstlich.
05:53 Ja, köstlich kann man sagen.
05:55 Schmeckt sehr gut.
05:56 Köstlich.
05:56 Ja, köstlich.
05:57 Köstlich.
05:58 Köstlich.
05:59 When the first German firm came to Taicang 13 years ago,
06:04 this little county could probably never imagine
06:06 one day it will become a home for German firms in China.
06:11 And they keep coming.
06:12 While some people are saying foreign investors are quitting China,
06:16 I think what's happening in Taicang proves how wrong they are.