China keeps promises at CIIE, says BSH chairman

China has kept its promises that delivered at the inaugural China International Import Expo and also provided a more open platform for cooperation at the second CIIE, said Roland Gerke, chairman of BSH Home Appliances Holding Co Ltd, at the ongoing CIIE in Shanghai.

Gerke, who also participated in the first CIIE, said the company has received great attention from visitors of different provinces of China, thanks to the platform provided by the CIIE, and more new contracts are expected this year.

For this year's CIIE, the company has brought different kinds of dishwashers which can be installed in a kitchen when building a new house or added to a kitchen in an existing house, because dishwashers are a new category which has rapidly gained in popularity, Gerke said.

Five or 10 years ago nearly no one had a dishwasher in China, but today a lot of consumers are interested in buying one. The market has also grown at very high increase rates, so dishwashers are one of the new categories for home appliances with huge growth, according to Gerke.

Starting to work with BSH in Germany in 1985, Gerke witnessed China's development in the last 20 years and was fascinated by the country's development from infrastructure, technology and the daily lives of citizens to the improvement of the business environment.

The Foreign Investment Law, rectified by the People's Congress in March and now set to be implemented nationwide, is important for them as it gives their company even more possibilities to grow their business in the Chinese market, Gerke said.

He recalled how hard it was to get a business license about 10 years ago for a company based in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province.

"You had to go to Beijing for approvals. Now, most of the decisions are delegated to the municipality or the province where you are, so things get done very fast. It was record with all, as setting up the company or assigning investment agreements took us only two months for doing it all," Gerke said.

Gerke gives thanks to China's improved business environment, especially the legal framework, which allows foreign companies to feel easier about doing business in China, and thanks to the CIIE, which further opens the Chinese market, a promise China has kept.