Top 5 Reasons European firms see the economic and technological potential of China-APAC region
No matter whether you want to establish a presence in China-APAC or expand your existing presence, entering the Asian market is worthwhile. Companies in the manufacturing industry have the unique opportunity to benefit from the steadily increasing potential of the region and to position themselves internationally.
industry and to make it more resilient in light of international competition. The program includes the following points, among others: → The realisation of five major projects, also called five initiatives, before 2025, including the establishment of research, innovation and development centers, the development of innovative high-tech facilities in key industries, smart manufacturing, sustainable and green production, and the strengthening of industrial bases, thus ensuring widespread self-sufficiency for core materials and components in key industries. → Increasing the innovation, efficiency and quality of the industry and solving existing problems such as insufficient production quality or pollution caused by the industry. → Increasing the supply capacity of the manufacturing sector. → Strengthening the vitality and productivity of companies by renewing systems and mechanisms. → Better allocation of resources by market and government. → Expanding openness to international
profitable but not always easily accessible markets of Japan and South Korea, the lower profile countries in the region represent worthwhile investment options. With Bangladesh, Myanmar, Taiwan and Vietnam, four locations in the APAC region are in the top ten areas in the world with the highest growth in gross domestic product in 2020. 15 The ASEAN region (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is particularly noteworthy. In 2020, the estimated total GDP of all ASEAN countries was about 3.08 trillion USD, a significant increase from previous years. In fact, the GDP of the ASEAN region has been surging for several years, reflecting the region‘s thriving economy. Forecasts see the region growing to be the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030. 16
Similar initiatives in theAPACregion
The Asia-Pacific region comprises a large number of diverse economies with a wide range of industries. In general, industrial development in Asia since the end of the SecondWorldWar has been exceptional. Most spectacular was the rise of Japan as a global industrial superpower in the early postwar decades. More recently, the focus has been on countries like South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia. Yet, Asia‘s industrial output is still far smaller than its share of the world‘s population. In addition, although heavy industry has always been important to the economies of the larger Asian countries, light industry there stands out most. China is not the only country in the APAC region with a plan to strengthen its own manufacturing industry. India‘s Make in India program, for example, also aims to develop the high-growth manufacturing sector. Japan has the Industrial Value-Chain Initiative - a body composed of industrial and academic members working to promote smart manufacturing for a connected industry. South Korea‘s Manufacturing Innovation 3.0 , Singapore‘s Smart Nation Programme , Thailand‘s Thailand 4.0 and Malaysia‘s National Industry 4.0 Policy are all initiatives that work to develop manufacturing in their respective countries.
1. Huge Consumer market growth
The APAC region is home to 4.3 billion people, or 60% of the world‘s population. 14 With 1.4 billion inhabitants, China is not only the most populous country in the world, but also the second largest economy in the world. 15 The economy is growing relentlessly and even if the gross domestic product has only risen by a comparatively few percentage points in recent years, there is little reference to stagnation. For instance, economic growth of 8.4 percent year-on-year is forecast for 2021. 15 At the same time, people in China are becoming wealthier. Estimates for 2030 predict that the Chinese middle class - incidentally the largest in the world - will be responsible for almost a quarter of global consumption. 15
cooperation and contributing to the global transformation of the manufacturing industry.
Made in China 2025 was inspired by the German government‘s high-tech strategy Industry 4.0 . However, the implementation of Industry 4.0 technology is only one part of the strategy. It goes far beyond that and plans nothing less than a complete restructuring of manufacturing in China.
Producing for the entire APAC region
2. Digitally savvy and enthusiastic about tech
But it is not only the market potential in China that is huge. Particularly with regard to the partly oversaturated markets of the West, the entire APAC region offers promising business prospects. In addition, to the fundamentally
Digital technology has long been an integral part of everyday life in the APAC region. Japan and South Korea
14 - https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/node/15207
15 - https://www.statista.com/statistics/796245/gdp-of-the-asean-countries/
16 - https://www.austrade.gov.au/asean-now/why-asean-matters-to-australia/asean-economic-growth/
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