The government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, recently awarded the 2021 'NRW Investment Award' to China's Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. Interviews reveal that a large number of Chinese enterprises, represented by Xiaomi, have achieved repeated successes in investing and operating in NRW, Germany's major economic state, making positive contributions to the local efforts to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain healthy economic development.

Located in western Germany, NRW is the country's most populous state and ranks first in total economic output. Data provided by the Chinese Consulate General in Düsseldorf shows that NRW is Germany's 'double champion' in trade with China and two-way investment, and is also the region with the highest concentration of Chinese-funded enterprises in Germany. Currently, there are more than 1,000 NRW enterprises and projects in China, and more than 1,100 Chinese enterprises and institutions in NRW.

The 'NRW Investment Award' is jointly selected by the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs and the International Business Office, aiming to commend foreign enterprises that have made outstanding contributions to the state's economic development. Since 2003, 17 editions have been awarded. Chinese enterprises such as Sany Heavy Industry, XCMG, Huawei, Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Cutting Tools, Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd., and Xiaomi have successively won the award.

Among them, Huawei has become the largest foreign partner of Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom and is working with the city of Duisburg to build a smart city model there. Xiaomi's first offline Mi Home flagship store in Germany officially opened in 2020 in the old town of Düsseldorf, the capital of NRW, and within just one year became the third-largest smartphone brand in Germany.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese enterprises investing in NRW still achieved good business performance. The German branch of TP-Link, the world's leading network communication equipment supplier, was established in April 2008. It has entered all mainstream consumer electronics channels in Germany and other Western European markets and holds leading positions in multiple categories on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. According to the company, throughout 2020, despite the impact of the pandemic, its sales in the local German market grew by more than 50%, achieving sales of approximately US$90 million; since the beginning of this year, as of May, sales in the German market have grown by more than 90% year-on-year.

NRW Economics Minister Pinkwart stated that foreign economic cooperation, including foreign investment, plays an important role in NRW in increasing employment, promoting innovation, and driving economic development, and the award-winning enterprises have made special contributions to the state's economic development. In 2020, NRW's economy was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but employment and economic development remained sound. An important reason is that foreign economic cooperation, including foreign trade exports, maintained growth momentum, which also benefited from China's rapid economic recovery and growth as well as the deep-rooted cooperative relationship between NRW and China over many years.

Chinese Consul General in Düsseldorf Feng Haiyang stated that smartphones have long ceased to be Xiaomi's only specialty; the company is now providing various advanced devices for the world's largest IoT platform and will further expand the German market on this basis. 'Xiaomi's success story has just begun. We hope and believe that Xiaomi will take this award as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with Germany and NRW and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.'

The reporter also noted that, in addition to high-tech and industrial enterprises, liquor companies embodying the Chinese lifestyle are now actively entering the NRW market. China's Fenjiu recently opened its first overseas experience store in Cologne, a famous city in NRW. Former NRW Economics Minister Ernst Schwanhold stated that this is a symbol of German-Chinese friendship, opening up new opportunities for economic cooperation between the two sides and serving as a new window for cultural exchange.

Pinkwart emphasized that he is pleased to see NRW continue to maintain its position as the region with the highest concentration of Chinese-funded enterprises in Germany, and that Chinese enterprises' investment in NRW continues to show the prominent characteristics of rapid growth and high success rates. The fact that Chinese enterprises have won the 'NRW Investment Award' multiple times in recent years is a vivid example. He stated that NRW will unswervingly move in the same direction as China, further promote two-way investment, and play a pioneering and leading role in German-Chinese relations.