I think it makes a lot of sense to balance the economic growth and also the quality of growth. I’m very confident given the long-term experience and the action the Chinese government has taken. That this will work.

Our business is not that much affected by the slowdown. We are focusing on businesses which are supported by mega trends like health and nutrition, and the need for resource efficiency and that fits quite nicely with the government’s plans of the new normal.

The liberalization and the opening of China is clearly fostering global business. We have a long-standing tradition here in China and we feel well treated and I think under the difficult circumstances of the global economy, the Chinese government has done quite well so far in addressing all these challenges.

What we feel is our Chinese competitors become more and more skilled and more and more innovative. Until recently we could serve our clients in China from abroad, meaning from Europe and from the US. But I think right now if we want to maintain our market position, we have to be also home-produce here in China and because of that we would even speed up and enlarge our presence here in China.

-- Klaus Engel,

chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG