Siemens swears by local partnerships

Siemens AG plans to open a Belt and Road Initiative office in Beijing this year to further pursue the opportunities the initiative provides.

The company describes the B&R Initiative as “the most important and impactful global infrastructure program with the potential to become the blueprint for a new world trade order”.

Not elaborating on the specific responsibility or function the office will take, Siemens said the company would ramp up a company-wide effort to continue teaming up with Chinese EPC partners to jointly explore businesses in countries and regions participating in the initiative.

“As an innovator throughout the world, we look forward to working for and with Chinese companies operating in the Belt and Road countries,” said Cedrik Neike, member of the managing board, Siemens.

It is one of the largest foreign-invested companies in China. It has more than 32,000 employees working in numerous joint ventures and company operations across China.

“With our experience and world-class project management, Siemens has the potential to be bridge builders between Chinese players and international suppliers and customers,” he said.

“Together with our Chinese EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) partners, we’ll focus on paving the road to success in the countries involved with the initiative and we are committed to making continuous efforts for a business-oriented thoughtleadership exchange.”

Siemens has built a strong partnership with the Chinese government over recent years, which it believes will help it to seize further opportunities presented by the initiative.

It is also looking at cooperation in financial services. It is financing or co-financing strategic B&R projects as well as providing cooperation for development aid.