BASF chairman met with China’s premier
BASF AG chairman Jurgen Hambrecht, along with other German executives, reiterated concerns and criticism about Chinese policies that they believe put foreign companies at a disadvantage in a meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Hambrecht complained about rules that foreign firms say compel them to transfer valuable intellectual property in order to gain access to the world’s largest market.
“That does not exactly correspond to our views of a partnership,” said Hambrecht, according to a German reporter present at the meeting.
The meeting took place last Saturday in Xi’an, and included German and Chinese executives as well as Wen and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Wen rebutted and said the allegation is untrue.
German executives also raised concerns about Beijing’s efforts to limit the export of rare earth minerals, which are used in electric car batteries and other high-tech products. China has the world’s largest reserves of some of those elements. Wen promised to remain open on the export issue.
Hambrecht was chairman of the Asia Pacific Committee of German Business until this month.