Peter Loescher, Siemens AG's new chief executive officer, listed China as one of the three key countries for the group's global strategy. The other two countries are India and Japan.

Loescher, expected to take up his post as the German conglomerate's CEO next week, made his first public appearance on the sideline of the Siemens Media Summit held in this southern Germany city.

The new CEO, an Austrian, is the first non-German CEO and previously worked with the US drugmaker Merck. He was appointed to head the 160-year-old German conglomerate after its chairman Heinrich von Pierer and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld both resigned in April amid corruption scandals.

On his work priority, Loescher said what Siemens needs most now is "evolution, not revolution". Siemens' leadership change has triggered widespread reflection over where the business should take its next step.

The media summit yesterday answered much of the question. Themed "Climate Challenges of the 21st Century", the meeting tackled the issue of how technological innovation can help address greenhouse gas emissions, a top global concern.

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Hermann Requardt, head of Siemens corporate technology, outlined the company's ideas on how to produce, distribute, save and use energy efficiently.

"Increased use of innovative solutions is the key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Requardt said, adding that the company holds some 30,000 patents for environmental and climate-relevant solutions and invests more than 2 billion euros annually in this area.

"Ten leading technologies (developed by Siemens) alone... can reduce CO2 emissions by 10 billion, an amount equal to 40 percent of the current level," he said.

The company, an electric engineering and electronics powerhouse, is also aiming to increase energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2011 at its plants worldwide, which will in turn substantially reduce CO2 emissions. The company emits some 4.53 million tons of CO2 a year.

Siemens achieved sales of 50.4 billion yuan in its 2006 fiscal year ending September, a 37 percent year-on-year increase. It announced plans to invest 10 billion yuan in China by 2010, in addition to the 10 billion yuan invested in the past three years.