Ge Lihe spoke out at the Davos Forum: Without China, globalization would be impossible to talk about

Last week, Merck CEO Gerlache attended a meeting in Davos, Switzerland hosted by the World Economic Forum andCGTNJointly launched“New opportunities for China's economic growth”A TV forum where guests from different backgrounds and countries discuss and look forward to new opportunities and development drivers for China's economic growth.

The theme of this year's World Economic Forum is“rebuild trust”In the current sluggish global economic recovery, where does trust in the development of the world economy come from? How will the new trend of China's economic growth drive global economic recovery and restore the world's confidence in the future? Ge Lihe, as a representative of the enterprise, shared her views with us on the forum.

I know Merck entered China a long time ago. How do you view the trend of the Chinese economy?

Yes, Merck has been deeply involved in China for over 90 years. The Chinese market contains important opportunities and will also achieve sustainable and high-quality development goals in the coming years. As the guests present have said, the challenges facing the Chinese economy are better than expected. In my opinion, the challenge facing China is to truly balance national security issues, maintain resilience, and achieve growth. China is an exporting country, just like Germany, so we need to establish reliable rules and create a healthy and fair competitive environment on a global scale. In short, China needs to provide a fair competition environment for international enterprises, promote foreign investment, and contribute to China's economic growth.

We just heard a sharing from the Vice Chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center, who believes that the scale of China's economy occupying the global market is very attractive. At the same time, he also mentioned the issue of ongoing consultations with global companies, such as those related to government procurement and data flow. How do you view these policies and Merck's future plans in China?

Merck will consistently implement“Rooted in China, serving China”The strategy. We focus on three major fields: healthcare, life sciences, and electronic technology. Thanks to our diversified business portfolio and layout, we have the ability to meet customer needs faster and better serve our patients. For example, our biopharmaceutical business has also had a positive impact on the prospects of our life science business.

Nowadays, China contributes to global research and development22%Second only to the United States27%However, Japan only accounts for7%China's biotechnology and research are flourishing. For technology companies like Merck, the flourishing development of new technologies contains great new opportunities. As I mentioned earlier, China is a very important market for Merck, and we have nearly5,000Name of employee. We establish trusting partnerships with local companies to quickly respond and serve our Chinese customers and patients. The most important thing is to continue contributing to the growth and resilience of our global business.

Foreign companies operate in China, competing with Chinese enterprises while establishing good cooperative relationships with them. Similarly, in overseas markets, foreign companies also maintain a competitive and cooperative relationship with Chinese enterprises. How do you view this fascinating and complex relationship, taking into account all supply chains and many other factors? What is the operating mechanism behind it? Especially in the face of the current economic situation, can you share some of your opinions?

I think this is compatible. As a technology company operating globally, I believe that global diversification is an important factor for Merck to maintain resilience and achieve future growth. In this context, we rely on our internal combination in China to achieve this goal. As I mentioned earlier, in the field of healthcare, we provide patients with essential medications; In the field of life sciences, we serve biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, which is a promising growth engine; In the field of electronic technology, Merck has focused on display and liquid crystal technology for many years, and now also includes semiconductor technology.

Therefore, relying on our own resources, investing in the Chinese market, cooperating with renowned pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in China, and increasing our influence in local and international markets are undoubtedly very complementary and mutually reinforcing. Because we also rely on some of these emerging innovations and China's continuously developing biotechnology to support the company's promotion and commercialization of new products in markets outside of China. For both parties, this is a win-win strategy.

In the past few months, we have announced several strategic partnerships, among which we have obtained commercial licenses from our Chinese partners for new treatment methods for cancer or other chronic diseases. So I believe that cooperation and competition between foreign and local enterprises are very complementary, not only increasing the local influence of the enterprise on the market, but also increasing growth opportunities on a global scale.

As a long-term partner and participant in the Chinese market, we attach great importance to cooperation based on transparency and trust, improving our service quality, and most importantly, ensuring the high-quality and sustainable development of our business.

We just heard that there are four new economic policies in China: new technology, new infrastructure, new investment, and new consumption. Just now, the Vice Chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center also mentioned green development and a series of new green initiatives. So how can these policies be combined with the key issues raised by enterprises? Is it enough to drive China's economic growth?

There may be one more thing that has not yet been mentioned in terms of restoring business confidence and ensuring international investment. In my opinion, China's current fields of medicine, health, and life sciences are gradually approaching developed markets. One thing we need to pay special attention to is ensuring consistency and predictability in the regulatory environment. Merck has been actively engaged in portfolio management. Nowadays, a potential limitation we encounter when considering non organic growth is regulatory restrictions related to potential national security issues. I think this is a problem that needs to be solved quickly so that we can operate smoothly on a global scale. Additionally, I must mention another issue, which is crucial for China to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights and the return on innovation.