German carmaker confident of long-term growth in China

BEIJING, march 25 (Xinhua) -- German automaker Daimler AG said CHINA's key government policies are driving economic growth for the long-term benefit of the country and the automotive industry, CHINA Daily reported Monday.

"Last year was the 40th anniversary of opening-up. Many foreign companies, such as Daimler, have witnessed, participated in and benefited from CHINA's reforms and its astonishing economic growth, realizing local development here," Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said in his keynote speech at the CHINA Development Forum, held in Beijing from march 23 to 25.

Early this march, the Chinese government approved the foreign investment law and announced that the country's value-added tax will be reduced for various industries from April 1.

"The major trends of connected, automated, shared and electric mobility are progressing in CHINA at an astonishing rate, fueling the transformation and sustainable development of the automotive industry," said Hubertus Troska, member of the board of management of Daimler AG responsible for CHINA.

"CHINA has our youngest customer base globally, providing Daimler with great insights into developing cutting-edge technologies in fields such as digitalization and connectivity," he added.