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
Foreign diplomats and scholars are looking closely at this year's "two sessions", saying China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will not only chart the nation's economic and technological priorities but also reshape global value chains.
The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday, followed by the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Together known as the "two sessions," these meetings offer a comprehensive view into China's development priorities.
Global observers emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint guiding the nation's economic, social, and technological priorities over the next five years, marks a decisive shift toward high‑quality growth anchored in advanced technologies, with ripple effects across the world.
"The two sessions will discuss China's five-year plan, which is heavily oriented toward China's major technological development. I believe this is important because it represents the new blueprint for China's economy, which is now oriented toward the renowned high-quality development, and this will undoubtedly impact the entire world. I think it is worth studying. This is very important for Latin America. It will help us integrate more intelligently into global value chains and into all aspects of the major development that China is promoting in iconic industrial sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space development, where Latin America also has much to contribute beyond just commercial growth," said Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja, former Argentine Ambassador to China.
"The two sessions are a major political milestone in China, and this year's gathering carries even greater significance as this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. This plan represents not only a blueprint for China, but also a guide for other countries. Instruments like the five-year plan effectively provide greater certainty and predictability for the rest of the world," said Chilean scholar of international relations Ignacio Araya Heredia.
"This is a particularly important date, especially due to the fact that the next Five-Year Plan shall be positioned and we're going to see what its main elements shall be. Serbia, which has a very high degree of steel friendship with the People's Republic of China, can expect further assistance in identifying the most prominent areas of Serbian economy and being helped by its great partner, such as it has been done in the previous period, from one part with establishing the main infrastructure projects, but also reshaping the industrial sector of Serbia, not just Serbia, but the region as a whole," said Veljko Mijuskovic, assistant professor of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.
Beyond the policy framework, experts also pointed to China's achievements in green energy and technological innovation as models worth emulating.
Tomasz Bielinski, adjunct professor at the University of Gdansk's Faculty of Economics, said the robotics displays at the 2026 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala reflected China's broader push in technological innovation.
"I was really impressed about the robotics. I'm very impressed with Chinese development in the technological field, we can still make great deals with Chinese businessmen and we can cooperate together to use this technology for both the good of China and the European Union. I'm aware of the innovation especially in autonomous drive on the on the Chinese side," he said.
"We hope for more of China's economic cooperation, especially in trade and also in investment. Also, and the other focus, if I talk about the focus of the development, don't forget about the green energy. We know that China is great in the electric vehicle field. So because China's electric vehicles in Indonesia nowadays, since couple of years ago, are very, very popular," said Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association.
Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts
