Chinese Entanglements with Lower Franconian Business Chinese Entanglements with Lower Franconian Business A Student Research Project by the Chair of China Business and Economics at the University of Würzburg Impressum Project Team Members: Automotive Industry Team Leader: Fabian Schmid Members: Lena Hofmann, Torbjörn Kubsch, Luisa Schneidawind Clothing Industry Team Leader: Filip Wieteska Members: Pascal Bühler, Katherina Ho, Mateja Mogus Food and Beverages Industry Team Leader: Claire Wilson Members: Enarile Angnide, Iryna Bielitska, Andreas Mischer Technology and Machinery Industry Team Leader: Alexander Li Members: Finn Borchert, Simon Lin, Xinyue Chen Tourism and Hospitality Industry Team Leader: Manuela Voss Members: Louisa Braun, Melvin Kebekus, Linda Yu Interviews: with Mr. Eisend: Pascal Bühler with Mr. Göpfert: Enarile Angnide, Claire Wilson with Ms. Geier: Iryna Bielitska, Andreas Mischer with Mr. Rudek: Melvin Kebekus, Linda Yu with Mr. Streck: Pascal Bühler with Ms. Streiffuss, and Mr. Weiler: Melvin Kebekus, Manuela Voss with Mr. Treumann: Mateja Mogus, Filip Wieteska Design and Format: Alexander Li, Manuela Voss Editing: Claire Wilson Cover Page: Filip Wieteska Project Coordination: Jonas Lindner © 2020 Doris Fischer, Chair of China Business and Economics, Julius-Maximillian’s University of Würzburg. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. It was authored by the students of the Master’s program China Business and Economics M.Sc. at the Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg as part of their curriculum. It is therefore subject to copyright. Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Construction and Structure of the Case Study ............................................................................3 Selection of Entanglements, Firms, and Industries ...............................................................6 Assessment and Limitations of the Study ................................................................................9 General Assessment of the Economy of Lower Franconia ....................................................... 12 General Impression and Core Competencies ........................................................................... 12 Statistical Comparison of Indicators across Bavaria and Germany: Overall Economic Indicators .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Statistical Comparison of Indicators across Bavaria and Germany: Industry Composition .................................................................................................................................... 15 Interview about Lower Franconia and China ........................................................................ 17 The Automotive Industry in Lower Franconia .............................................................................. 26 The Automotive Industry .................................................................................................................. 26 Methodological Approach ................................................................................................................ 28 Findings of the General Survey...................................................................................................... 30 Entanglements with China .............................................................................................................. 30 Companies Without Chinese Entanglements ....................................................................... 32 Types of Entanglements .............................................................................................................. 32 The Big Picture ................................................................................................................................... 33 The Automotive Industry of Bavaria ........................................................................................ 34 The Automotive Industry of Germany ..................................................................................... 35 The Automotive Industry of the European Union ................................................................ 38 Comparison Between the Regions ........................................................................................... 39 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 41 The Machinery and Technology Industry in Lower Franconia ................................................. 43 The Machinery and Technology Industry ................................................................................... 43 Revenue Distribution in the Industry ....................................................................................... 44 Methodological Approach ................................................................................................................ 46 Findings of the General Survey...................................................................................................... 47 Motivations for Entanglement with China .............................................................................. 51 Expanding the Business to China............................................................................................. 52 Future Outlook for the Industry in China ................................................................................ 53 Entanglements with China .............................................................................................................. 55 Chinese Employees in Lower Franconia ................................................................................ 55 Economic Espionage .................................................................................................................... 56 The Big Picture ................................................................................................................................... 58 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 60 The Clothing Industry in Lower Franconia .................................................................................... 61 The Clothing Industry ........................................................................................................................ 61 Current Challenges of the Clothing Industry ......................................................................... 62 The Example of s.Oliver. .............................................................................................................. 63 Methodological Approach ................................................................................................................ 65 Interview Methodology ................................................................................................................. 67 Limitations of the Industry Report ............................................................................................ 68 Findings of the General Survey...................................................................................................... 69 Entanglements with China .............................................................................................................. 73 Share of China-Related Business in 2018 ............................................................................ 73 Reasons for Engagement with China ...................................................................................... 74 Business Expansion to China .................................................................................................... 75 China as Investment Destination.............................................................................................. 76 Assessment of Business Prospects over the Next Three Years .................................... 77 Estimated Market Access Restrictions ................................................................................... 78 China-Related Importation ......................................................................................................... 79 Import Channels ............................................................................................................................. 79 Chinese Business Partners ........................................................................................................ 80 Interviews .............................................................................................................................................. 82 On the Way to India, ..................................................................................................................... 82 From the Tailor’s Room to a Wholesaler ................................................................................ 88 The Big Picture ................................................................................................................................... 91 The Bavarian Clothing Industry ................................................................................................