German business group sees China slowdown not worrying

China's economic slowdown is normal since the country is restructuring its development model which will create new business opportunities, said an official of a leading German business group on Wednesday.

"The slowdown itself shouldn't be worrying so much," said Jens Hildebrandt, East Asia Director of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), in an interview with Xinhua.

"If you look at the numbers from what speed and development China is coming, I think this developing we see now is normal and it is also wanted," he said, adding that German companies had understood China was restructuring its economy to emphasis on quality over quantity, and adjusted themselves to slower growth expectations.

"We think that restructuring of the Chinese economy is actually a good chance for German companies," Hildebrandt said, "if China and Chinese companies want to move up the value chain and have a more high-tech profile, German companies are very good suppliers to that."

Mechanical engineering was one of the sectors that would benefit from the transition as China needed "good machines" to develop high-end manufacturing, he said.

Currently, there are over 5,000 German companies running business in China which is also Germany's biggest trading partner outside Europe.

A recent survey on German companies in China found that the share of companies planning to invest in new locations in China remained stable compared to that of the previous year, and there was no indication that investment was being relocated to other countries.

"There are a lot of provinces, especially in western part of China, that are still underdeveloped ... there is a lot of potential to grow," said Hildebrandt, who worked for the German Chamber of Commerce in China for six years.

"If you look at the per person ratio of the GDP, China is still at a relatively low level," he added. As Chinese people's income increased, demand for German consumption products like cars was expected to grow.

In August, German automaker Daimler sold 53.1 percent more Mercedes-Benz cars to Chinese customers than a year ago. The company's chief executive Dieter Zetsche said in a recent interview that Daimler expected to see a record sales of over 300,000 vehicles in China this year.

Hildebrandt said even though Chinese growth slowed down, the value of the GDP increased remained huge.

"The 10 percent GDP growth we had a couple of years ago is actually less in value than the 7 percent we have now. In total, it is still a very strong economy," he said. Endit