Mercedes CEO: 'absolutely inconceivable' to write off China
FILE PHOTO: Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management for Mercedez-Benz, speaks during a presentation at the opening of a Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle Battery Factory, marking one of only seven locations producing batteries for their fully electric Mercedes-EQ models, in Woodstock, Alabama, U.S., March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
FRANKFURT : Mercedes-Benz Chief Executive Ola Källenius on Monday spoke out against distancing oneself from China, saying it was "absolutely inconceivable" to write off the country.
The comments came days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz led a delegation of business leaders to China, urging German companies to diversify should the relationship between the two countries sour.
Källenius, speaking at an event at Berlin's ESMT business school, said he was deeply convinced of the benefits of globalization and that it was absolutely right for Scholz to be the first Western leader to visit President Xi Jinping recently after his term extension.
"To back away from China because something might happen would be the wrong direction," Källenius said.
