China is currently the world’s second economy and the world’s largest exporting nation. China is also the world’s largest player in the manufacturing industry, due in part to the construction of a sophisticated value chain supply ecosystem.

For many international companies, China is a strategic market today due to its growth potential and certainly in comparison with the other markets. The COVID-19 crisis has strengthened the importance of China, and Asia in general, for international companies.

After 4 decades of growth, the Chinese economy is still growing and even strongly compared to other markets. Growth is slowing down. In 2019, the economy grew by 6.1%, confirming the picture of growth according to the L-curve.

The main reasons for growth slowing down is a sluggish world economy with declining international demand, an ageing population and the trade war with the US. Growth nevertheless remains positive due to the recovery in domestic demand. As far as 2020 is concerned, it remains to be seen how sever the corona virus crisis will be. China is unlikely to go into recession in 2020 and will see strong growth in 2021.