Romano Prodi: China Should Pay Attention to the Difference of Investment in the European Market

I am very pleased to see that CMIG is conducting the investment in the European market, but the investment in European countries should be concerned about the differences in different countries, including the different skills, strengths and labor costs of the peoples. Diversified European market is the reality we are facing. Different countries have different advantages, such as economic labor capitals in Romania and Bulgaria, and superb technology in Germany nationwide.

In simple terms, in China's investment resources, Italy is an attractive object. If we want to achieve the transfer of rural population to the city, we need further development of agricultural mechanization; while the machinery industry in Italy is very promising in this regard. When it comes to Germany, this country can also bring a lot of valuable industrial experience and technologies. So, Europe is a very important market and economy. As for the overall development of the European economy, now is not the time of its prosperity. Due to diversity, labor force differs in skills and technology, which is also one of the overall advantages of Europe; besides, Europe is a huge unified market. This is why I believe that Europe, compared with the United States, is more worthy of Chinese investment in the next phase.

Perhaps the United States would set a certain threshold to accept Chinese investment, which leads to that part of Chinese investment has no access to the country. However, the main reason is not this but that China’s economic development forms a complementary to the European market. What’s more, as a matter of fact, investment restrictions on some industries that are forbidden to be invested in the United States, including the industries that are thought to be strategic, are not necessary. So what I mean is that I firmly believe it's a good choice for China to focus on and put the investment priority in Europe, but it is necessary to take into account the different situations of production sectors in different countries.

On the investment barrier, we need to adopt a variety of ways to circumvent these difficulties, such as conducting asset acquisition or investing in some areas. These are the things we need to do, and Europe is also revising its policies.

Europe expects to replace with smarter approaches, for example, by carrying out new investment in technologies, markets, brands and so on. This will bring more vitality to the European economy. China should pay close attention to the changes in the European market, and strive for greater returns at a lower price.