Interview: Maersk CEO sees change, opportunity in Chinese economy

Despite his packed schedule, Nils S. Andersen, CEO of the world's largest shipping company, the Denmark-based Maersk Group, will not miss his annual spring meeting in China.

Andersen attends the China Development Forum held in late March of each year to learn about China's political and economic policies from top government officials.

"China is the world's largest exporter and potentially the biggest importer in the future. This is why we value China so much. It's an enormous market with great potential," he told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

This year, he came with a record that could make the host country jealous. Maersk reaped a record high profit of 5.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2014. China, the company's largest source of business, is undergoing an economic transition to rely less on labor, resources and investment and more on domestic consumption and services.

The world's second largest economy slowed its pace with growth of 7.4 percent in 2014, a 24-year low, and the figure is expected to drop to 7 percent this year.

However, it's not all bad for China in the CEO's eyes.

"You have to be Chinese to think that China's economy is gloomy. The seven-percent growth is still very strong," he said.

"For a number of years, the Chinese government has been hoping to transform the economic development model to one driven by consumption and services. This is exactly what we are seeing now," he said.

"The government is hoping to further stimulate domestic demand and achieve balanced development, which is not an easy task," said the CEO.

He believes the formula that made China successful in the past -- stimulating exports and attracting foreign investment -- was good for the growth phase, but has now become risky.

"It is dangerous if the economy grows too fast and too dependent on investments, and the Chinese government also needs to combat pollution, which is difficult if the economy is growing at a very rapid pace," he said.

When Andersen first started at Maersk in 2007, the industry titan was overextended with business interests in shipping, oil and gas, ship-building, banking, and supermarkets.

During the heart of the financial crisis in 2009, the company lost 12.9 billion U.S. dollars, its bitterest loss since World War II.

However, Andersen led the company in streamlining and job cuts so Maersk could focus on shipping and oil, which returned the giant to profits.

"The Chinese government is focusing more on stimulating domestic demand and services to build up a balanced society. This is not easy and it takes time," he said.

Andersen promised to help the Chinese government achieve the goal and hopes to see a "free and open" economy in China.

"We feel that we are welcomed in China and we have been investing a lot of money here in recent years, and I don't see why that shouldn't continue," he said.

"We see the import and export opportunities continue to be there and what we should do is adapt to the new situation," said the CEO.

Maersk currently has 123 offices and 14,000 employees in China. Its China-related business accounts for one-third of its total worldwide.

Andersen said this year the company is launching a port project in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province to accommodate large container ships, and it is seeking more opportunities to work with Chinese companies.

"Now China has become more competitive in technology, branding and quality. The economic transition in China also brings pressure to Chinese companies and they need to strengthen their competitiveness by knowing more about the market. This is where Maersk comes in. We provide those companies access to local markets," said Andersen. Endi