But Ola Kaellenius said decoupling from China, the world's second largest economy, was "unthinkable for almost all of German industry". "The major players in the global economy, Europe, the US and China, are so closely intertwined that decoupling from China makes no sense," he was quoted as saying. German carmakers depend on the Chinese car market, the world's largest, and Mercedes-Benz counts China's Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd and Geely chairman Li Shufu as its two top shareholders. China accounted for 18% of revenues and 37% of car sales at Mercedes-Benz in 2022 and Kaellenius predicted more to come. "Our sales figures in China are increasing and I am quite optimistic that we will also grow this year.

Source: The Edge Markets April 30, 2023 19:36 UTC