Chinese entrepreneurs voice confidence in Chinese economy

BERLIN - Leading Chinese entrepreneurs voiced their confidence in China's economic prospects during a visit to Germany, saying China still has huge growth potential and sufficient space for cooperation with foreign partners.

Guo Guangchang, chairman of Fosun International Limited, one of China's biggest investment companies, said he was "firmly confident" in China's economic outlook despite the recent slowdown.

He made the remarks in a business meeting here attended by some 20 Chinese leading entrepreneurs and representatives from German industry and business.

According to Guo, dubbed the "Chinese Warren Buffett," consumption potential in China remains high. This, together with falling commodity prices and financing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises, will contribute to economic growth in coming years, he said.

Guo added that China and Germany need to cooperate with each other. In July this year, Fosun acquired a majority stake of German private bank Hauck & Aufhaeuser (H&A), following another acquisition with German wealth manager BHF-Bank.

"We wish to expand our investment in Germany," said Guo, adding his company had built a global network of private banks with assets of $100 billion.

Wu Yajun, chairwoman of Longfor Properties, said the ongoing urbanization process in China will stimulate growth which "should not be underestimated."

According to her, as more and more people move to cities in China, private consumption will be boosted, creating a huge market for high quality products and service offered by Chinese and foreign companies.

"The number of people we serve in Chinese cities will increase to one million in two years from 600,000 now," said the real estate tycoon.

Xu Jinghong, chairman of Tsinghua Holdings, noticed that new startups were emerging rapidly in recent two years.

"Since 2014, China has seen about 10,000 new small enterprises emerging every day," he said, adding that these new companies, with their vigor, will pave roads for long-lasting growth of the Chinese economy.

"Innovation will be an important driving force in China," said Ma Weihua, president of the China Entrepreneur Club, which organized the business leaders' visit.

"We are looking for cooperation opportunities here," Ma said.

The Chinese entrepreneurs will head for Italy on Friday after their visit to companies such as SAP and BMW in Germany.