China has never been an easy market. And with all the uncertainty it won't get easier. But with the development of the domestic market with its huge demand for high quality products and the rapid innovation of Chinese companies, China is still an attractive location for European companies. And although the current crises shows the problem arising from complex supply chains it is even more important to develop a clear strategy how to deal with it.

The discussion whether China is a competitor or a partner is from our point of view totally wrong. It has to be a partner and a competitor. Because of the developments in the interntianal political arena China has to be involved in solving global problems and in this respect China has to be a partner. At the same time being a partner gives the opportunity to discuss critical issues and also to define things that are not acceptable to the other side. At the same time China is a competitor, one who is becoming stronger and stronger. And there are more and more aspects where Western companies can learn from Chinese competitors.

For each company it is now the question who to define your own strategic position regarding a market that is domestically becoming more and more interesting and at the same time facing companies that are more and more successfully entering the world market. For European companies it is at the same time curial to develop an organization in China that can adapt to the fast changes there and has the right mix of competencies. With the online assessment tools of our Swiss partner Benoit Consulting this can be done in a very fast and efficient way.