Mercedes-Benz pledges continued investment in China: board chairman

Iconic German automaker Mercedes-Benz is confident in China's future and pledges to continue investment as the company seeks to build on the market integration of the past decades, said the company's CEO on Saturday.

Ola Kallenius, chairman of the Board of Management and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group, is in China to attend the China Development Forum 2025, which kicked off on Sunday in Beijing.

In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Saturday, Kallenius reaffirmed China's significance as the biggest car market in the world.

"I think this is a big milestone, 50 years of working together. And if you look at where we were 50 years ago and you compare today, our economies are very, very closely linked together. So I think we should use that as a platform to think about how do we develop this into the future, how do we create economic win-wins? And it's already so connected that the auto industry and especially global companies like Mercedes-Benz, we are in all the big economies. Mercedes operates in 150 countries. China is our biggest and most important market. So, let's use this anniversary to see how can we work closer and stronger together in the future," he said.

During Kallenius' meeting on Friday with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, the two sides exchanged views on Mercedes-Benz's cooperation with China and the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles.

Kallenius said the Chinese market is of strategic significance to Mercedes-Benz Group and that the company is willing to further expand investment in China, deepen cooperation with Chinese partners, and jointly cope with global economic and trade challenges.

"We're investing 14 billion [yuan] (about 1.93 billion U.S. dollars) into new products, new technologies, with partners also here in China. We're going to industrialize more vehicles also in China and it's not just our passenger car division. We have an operation for our vans also in Fujian Province. And we're in the process of introducing a complete new vehicle architecture for the vans that we will industrialize also here in China. So it is a very, very broad strategy for Mercedes-Benz in China and also China for the world," he said.

"I had the chance last night to meet Minister Wang from MOFCOM and also today to meet Party secretary Yin from Beijing, which is our home here, our main home here in China, and they sent a very strong message. They said China is open for business, China is opening up, you can count on China, invest in China, and you have a chance if you are competitive to get the return," added Kallenius, referring to Yin Li, secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee.

Kallenius is among 86 official delegates of multinationals from 21 countries participating in this year's forum, which is slated to conclude on Monday.

Mercedes-Benz pledges continued investment in China: board chairman

South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region remains under a Level IV rainstorm alert as heavy downpours and severe convective weather continue to batter multiple areas after intense rainfall hit the region on Monday.

The severe weather has triggered serious urban flooding in several cities, trapping residents and prompting emergency rescue operations by armed police and firefighters.

The Guangxi Meteorological Observatory forecasts that during daytime on Tuesday, cities including Guilin, Liuzhou, Hezhou, Laibin, Guigang, and Wuzhou, as well as central and southern parts of Hechi and Baise, and northern Nanning, will see heavy to torrential rain, with localized downpours accompanied by short-duration thunderstorms and strong winds.

On Tuesday night, cities including Wuzhou, Guigang, Nanning, Chongzuo, Yulin, Beihai, Qinzhou, and Fangchenggang will experience heavy to torrential rain, with localized downpours accompanied by short-duration thunderstorms and strong winds.

Qinzhou City in southern Guangxi has been hit by heavy rainfall, with severe waterlogging on multiple road sections trapping residents since Monday.

The Qinzhou Detachment of the Guangxi Armed Police Corps dispatched officers driving inflatable boats to search for and relocate the stranded residents. So far, more than 800 people have been evacuated.

Sudden heavy rain also struck Fangchenggang City in Guangxi on Monday.

In Baisha Village of the Gangkou District, severe waterlogging left multiple residents trapped. Local firefighters rushed to the scene upon receiving the emergency call to assist with evacuations.

Upon arrival, the firefighters found that rising river levels caused by rainfall had led to severe flooding in some areas, with water depths reaching nearly 1.5 meters and multiple homes submerged.

The firefighters, carrying life jackets and other equipment, used inflatable boats to evacuate residents.

After more than an hour of rescue efforts, all 22 trapped individuals were safely evacuated. No casualties were reported.

Severe storms trigger flooding, emergency rescues in south China