BMW's 'vividly connected' global supply chains deeply embedded in China: CEO

Oliver Zipse, chairman of the board of management and CEO of BMW AG, on Sunday highlighted the company's deep integration with Chinese supply chains and reaffirmed its commitment to continue investing in the Chinese market.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2025 China Development Forum, held in Beijing from March 23 to 24, Zipse highlighted China's crucial role in BMW's global supply chain, particularly in its electric vehicle (EV) battery partnerships.

"BMW is a global company. We're vividly connected with global supply chains. Many of them have some part also located here in China. Let's take vehicle batteries, for example. We have (Chinese) companies like CATL or EVE where we develop, blend and manufacture cells for our vehicles in China but also outside of China," said Zipse.

Emphasizing China's increasing importance for BMW since its entry in 1994, he reiterated the company's long-term confidence in the country, pointing to the huge portions of the population who do not yet own a car as cause for continued optimism.

"It's today by far our biggest single market we had. In the mid-term I remain optimistic because it's still the biggest car market in the world. And the mobility rate in China for its 1.4 billion inhabitants is still fairly low. So compared to Europe or the United States, there's still a large gap which can be fulfilled," said the company chairman.

He also praised the advanced technologies coming out of China, stating that BMW hopes to collaborate with China in exporting its innovations.

"The second positive thing I think is, it's a highly innovative market. So it's not only about this market, it's also about developing something here for the world. The whole technology export business, where we can profit from that also in Germany or other parts of the world. So generally we are still positive and we invest here and we want to be part of that society here as well," Zipse said.

BMW's 'vividly connected' global supply chains deeply embedded in China: CEO

BMW's 'vividly connected' global supply chains deeply embedded in China: CEO

President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that his country and China can build a mutually beneficial relationship amidst competitions.

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Lee will pay a state visit to China from Jan 4 to 7. It will be Lee's first visit to China since he took office in June 2025.

In an interview with the China Media Group (CMG) in Seoul, capital of the ROK, on Wednesday, Lee said that the ROK and China both place great importance on the development of high-tech fields, and this inevitably creates competitions between the two countries, but will also presents ample cooperation opportunities for both sides.

"To my knowledge, the Chinese government has made tremendous efforts in high-tech investment, research and development investment, and the talent cultivation in the field of basic research, just as the ROK has done. From this perspective, the ROK and China share similarities in economic growth strategies, which certainly creates competitions between the two countries, but it also presents broad cooperation opportunities for both sides. I believe that if we can explore areas for cooperation amid competitions and enhance our respective strengths through cooperation, we can build a mutually beneficial relationship that not only supports China's sustainable development strategy but also promotes ROK's growth strategy," Lee said.

ROK president eyes mutually beneficial relationship with China amid competitions