Volkswagen remains committed to dynamic Chinese auto market: executive

German auto giant Volkswagen is confident in exploring more development opportunities in the dynamic Chinese auto market as it looks to strengthen its partnerships and joint ventures in China as the industry goes through a huge tech transition, according to a company executive.

Stefan Mecha, CEO of the Volkswagen China Passenger Cars Brand, shared his insights on the brand's future plans and innovation capabilities, and gave his assessment of the current global auto market in a recent interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN).

"When you look at this year, there are some markets in the world that go sideways. Europe [is] pretty much on the same level than last year - 12 million cars in total. The U.S. and China are pretty much on the same growth trajectory, around three percent, so I think that's good. Also, thanks to all the measures that the government has put on the road, so I think that's really positive," he said.

The Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) market is becoming increasingly competitive, with traditional industry leaders pursuing transformation while a host of new entrants are looking to make their mark in the sector.

Noting these fast-paced developments, Mecha also re-affirmed his company's commitment to the China market, pointing to China's huge growth potential and noting Volkswagen's long-standing presence in the country which stretches back four decades.

"We truly believe that China is one of the few markets that will really substantially grow over the next years. We believe on average three or three and a half percent, so that by 2030 we land at around 29-30 million cars," he said.

"We have shaped mobility in China for 40 years, so our plan is also to continue the next 40 years, so we really have a strong feeling about the market," he added.

While NEVs and particularly electric cars gain more popularity among consumers, Mecha emphasized that advancing technological features is key to the brand’s development, while stressing it still has strong focus on the traditional fossil-fueled vehicles.

"A lot of intelligent connected features come into play. So, for us, this has two challenges. Number one, the backbone of our business in China is still the ICE, the combustion engine cars. What we are doing now is really to bring these cars into the era of intelligent connected vehicles, because that's really key. The customers demand this. You clearly see that these cars have all the tech features [like] autonomous driving, pillar-to-pillar display," he said.

Looking ahead, Mecha noted the company is gearing up to unveil 16 new models over the next two years, with 2026 also set to be a "big year" as Volkswagen prepares to launch several new cars in its expanding electric vehicle range.

"I think this is something which is natural in the market that was so quickly growing. Now, also, the technology feature stabilizes. So, this is why we are very confident with all the models that we bring in 2026, in close connection with our joint ventures. So, the building block that we had over 40 years [in China] remains with strong joint venture partners. And we have added one more layer, which is the tech ecosystem. With the transition that this market undergoes, we also need to rework our business model. We learned this in the past - cooperations, partnerships, joint ventures are pivotal to achieve great in the market and we continue doing so," said Mecha.

Volkswagen remains committed to dynamic Chinese auto market: executive

Volkswagen remains committed to dynamic Chinese auto market: executive

A veteran agricultural scientist and deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, shared his decades-long mission to reduce the country's reliance on food imports and safeguard its food security by developing high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties.

Gao Derong, a researcher from the Lixiahe Regional Institute of Agricultural Sciences in east China's Jiangsu Province, detailed his relentless pursuit of better wheat varieties while taking a question at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing "two sessions", a major event in China's political calendar.

He has dedicated more than 30 years to wheat breeding and succeeded in the fight against Fusarium head blight, a serious fungal disease of cereals, including wheat and other small-grain crops, by implanting "disease-resistant genes" inside seeds.

"After 30 years of countless and repeated trials, we finally developed our first Fusarium head blight resistant variety in 2021. It exhibits strong disease resistance and high yield, with a yield of up to 600 kg per mu (0.066 hectare) in a demonstration plot. This means farmers can use fewer pesticides, produce more wheats, and secure a more stable harvest," said Gao.

Addressing the tight rotation schedule in the rice-wheat rotation system in south China, his team developed time-smart varieties like "Yangmai 25," which can be sown as late as December and still achieve a yield of 6,00 kg per mu.

"We have also cultivated a high-quality weak-gluten wheat variety tailored for biscuits and pastries, reversing China's long-standing reliance on imports. These grain varieties, like elite guard teams, help us hold our rice bowl firmly and contribute to securing our food security," Gao said.

As an NPC deputy, Gao extends his research from the lab to the field, gathering farmers' concerns alongside experimental data.

"My duty as a deputy is also written in the fields. 'Can we construct high-standard farmland at an accelerated pace?' 'Can we have more targeted agricultural subsidies?' These are the voices I often heard in the fields, which I carefully recorded like experimental data and transformed into suggestions," he said. Gao said he will continue working to enable the land to yield more grain, help farmers increase their incomes, and contribute to ensuring national food security.

This year's "two sessions," the annual meetings of China's top political advisory body and national legislature, opened in Beijing Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. As the world's second-largest economy embarks on the inaugural year of its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period, these gatherings will serve both as a review of past achievements, and as a strategic compass guiding the nation's future development.

NPC deputy vows to fortify China's food security through seed innovation