Top executives weigh in at CIIE (V)

A1: Karl Storz Company was established in 1945 in Tuttlingen, Germany, and we have since expanded to over 40 countries in the past 76 years. This is our third consecutive time participating in CIIE. We hope to demonstrate our high-quality innovative products and operation room solutions, and commitment to worldwide audience through CIIE.

A2: We believe CIIE promotes international procurement and multilateral cooperation, with concrete policy support and framework setup. Each year, we observe goals set and commitment met after CIIE. Being able to successfully host CIIE annual events during the most challenging years in 2020 and 2021, despite global pandemic and economic recession, proves that the Chinese government and Chinese people are contributing their share to the world economic recovery.

A3: China is a steady hand during turbulent times. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China imported $2.056 trillion worth of goods from around the globe in 2020. Given China's population of 1.4 billion, it translates to roughly $1,500 worth of imported goods per Chinese. Karl Storz Company has been in China for 15 years, so we grow together with China's reform and opening-up. And we remain a strong supporter of China's pursuit of higher-level opening-up.

A4: We unveiled our Karl Storz China Center (KSCC) in 2020, located in Zhangjiang High-Tech Park (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. It's a 10,000 square-meter architecture that serves as a hub for endoscopy product innovation and collaboration, medical training, and academic exchange for minimally invasive surgery industry. KSCC is our single largest investment in our company's Asia-Pacific region. So we are here for the long run to create shared values with our partners and customers, for the benefit of Chinese physicians and patients.

A5: Higher-level opening-up is not a choice, but a necessity. We strongly support and advocate for more opening-up and global collaboration in the medical device industry. As the COVID-19 pandemic proves, the fate of mankind is so intertwined that we must fight together to protect our health and enhance our lives.

A6: We welcome and appreciate China's continued efforts to accelerate institutional innovation through reforms and further opening up. We applaud China's concrete actions to reduce investment barriers, broadening market access and expanding free trade zone networks. As of October 2021, China has 21 free trades zones nationwide. That provides solid entry points for foreign companies and investors to be able to successfully navigate the China market.

A7: We call for continued consistency and greater transparency in strengthening domestic legal frameworks and establishing high-standard global economic and trade rules. To work across borders under different rules and regulations has always been challenging for global companies, especially in the medical device industry; but we see greater convergence toward embracing inclusivity and diversity. China is well poised to leverage and lead the global convergence on mutual opening up and mutual inclusion.

A8: Free trade and multilateralism are ideal models to create a sustainable international system that benefits all participating parties, yet it is a lot harder to achieve than going backward to populism, protectionism and nationalism. We believe China has the tenacity and temperance to forge multilateral ties with the world in ways that benefit us all.