German Chancellor Angela Merkel's official visit to China included talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. China-Germany ties have developed well in recent years, particularly in areas such as technological cooperation with companies like the global design start-up, NIO, known for its smartly designed premium electric cars.

NIO is a China-based electric car company that has  headquarters and staff around the world. The Vice President of Design at NIO's design HQ in Munich, Chris Tomasson said Munich was chosen for NIO design because it is a center of excellence. 

“We know automotive design, particularly in Europe and Germany, is very well regarded the world over. When we set up the studio here we knew we could attract a lot of key talent. The quality, the execution was going to be just perfect for the type of product we wanted to do,” Chris added.

Germany is the most popular investment destination for Chinese companies in Europe. In 2016, China spent more than ten billion euros on company investments and takeovers in Germany, mostly in the automotive, robotics, energy systems and biomedicine sectors.

“I think there is some reason why the Chinese like German products and the German industry. First of all German products have a very good reputation worldwide, which automatically gives confidence to Chinese consumers. And secondly, I think between Germany and China, both governments are concentrating on industry and economic exchanges with each other,” said Hui Zhang, NIO Managing Director in Germany.

While, many European companies claim restrictive investment policies in China make it difficult for them to operate there. China’s further opening up gives confidence to promoting trade relations between the two countries. In the meantime, China’s recent decision to reduce import tariffs on automobiles and their parts is a step forward and creates more opportunities for foreign investors to enter the Chinese market.