Taicang City in east China's Jiangsu Province has become a strategic hub for German enterprise growth, drawing hundreds of companies with its deep industrial base, skilled workforce, and responsive local governance.
Dubbed the "hometown of German companies," Taicang is now home to more than 560 German firms, including over 60 hidden champions, highly successful yet lesser-known small and medium-sized enterprises that lead global markets in specialized niches.
On the sidelines of an economic and trade cooperation exchange conference held in Taicang on Tuesday, senior figures from the hidden champion sector shared their reasons for investing and expanding in China, citing manufacturing agility, government responsiveness, and a rich talent pool.
"I believe that Chinese manufacturing companies are the best in the world, offering the lowest costs, fastest response times, and the most comprehensive product range. Whenever we have any problems, the government is always active to help us and responds quickly," said Bi Guanghong, CEO of Knorr-Bremse China.
"China's investment atmosphere is favorable compared to other places in the world, especially Taicang, where a large number of German companies are concentrated and they have accumulated very rich experience in the past," said Ma Kangkai, chairman of Jiangsu Deding Energy Technology Co.
"In China, we can do this development in four weeks, or six weeks, eight weeks, much more faster, and then we can directly produce here. This is very important, the employees are very international and well-educated, and the rent is also quite good in Taicang. So I think Taicang is just the best mix," said Francis Kremer, general manager of Wessel-Werk GmbH China.
"The Chinese consumer is the most innovative consumer developed, so Chinese consumers are more ready to accept innovations, to buy innovations. So this is also speeding up the process. There are several aspects, one is availability of talent, of qualified and well-educated workers to have qualified suppliers, so the supplier infrastructure is also very, very important for the decision on a location," said Hermann Simon, honorary chairman of Verband Deutscher Hidden Champions (VDHC).
For future plans, hidden champion leaders have made decades-long plans with special focuses on emerging fields.
"We want to invest in AI and digitalization. We have just signed framework agreements with several digital companies. We will not only focus on digital R&D in the Chinese market, but also want to feed back to the European market," said Bi.
"Our research and development team in China is exceptional and may expand to around 200 people in the future. We hope to continue investing and growing in China. This isn't a two-year or three-year plan, it's a five-year, 10-year, or even 20-year plan," said Ma.
Taicang grows into strategic base for German hidden champions in China
