China companies see Germany as EU springboard (3)

Benefits for Germans

There have been a spate of Western reports saying that China will "gobble up" Europe through purchases, and doubts over Chinese companies cheating their European high-tech counterparts, but for Chinese companies, the arguments don't make any sense.

"For the German companies, joining hands with their Chinese peers is a must and a wise choice for a better future. And I believe many are realizing the importance," said Chen.

Amid eurozone debt woes, many German companies find a lack of capital is the biggest bottleneck to expansion and even survival, and China can provide the capital they need, said Chen.

At the same time, for the German manufacturers, the Asia-Pacific region led by China, the largest economy in the region, is an "enticing consumption market" that enjoys comparatively higher expansion.

"So Chinese and German manufacturers are highly complementary to each other. We cannot see any reason for them (German companies) not to welcome the Chinese investment, can we?" said Chen.

The experience of Zoje, Chen's company, also provides proof. Zoje made its first foray in Germany early in 2008, buying a German embroidery machine producer.

In the same year, a joint venture named Kaiser Lutra Textilmaschinen GmbH announced it was spending 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) on establishing a factory in Pinghu in East China's Zhejiang province, manufacturing embroidery machines branded Kaier Lutra.

In 2010, Zoje acquired a 29 percent stake in Germany-based Durkopp Adler AG, and later set up another factory in Wujiang, Jiangsu province, to make industrial sewing machines.