In contrast to the heavy China bashing in most mainstream media, a new survey by the Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau gives a balanced assessment on challenges to the German mittelstand. High energy costs pose a leading challenge to companies, particularly those that have energy-intensive production, the survey notes, pointing out that companies that invest continuously into innovation of their products are less vulnerable than companies that are not doing that. Particularly in respect to Chinese companies, the innovation aspect plays a role, so that China is a factor, but not the only one, in the difficult situation which many companies find themselves in.
As for the “China is dumping prices” to have “unfair competition” against German products, the survey notes that lower prices for many components imported from China also benefit companies, helping them to keep cost productions for themselves low as well.
