Recently, ABB Group CEO Robian gave an interview to CGTN’s (China International Television) BizTalk program, sharing ABB’s views on actively implementing the long-term strategy of “in China, for China and the world” under the trend of industrial upgrading and low-carbon development in China, committed to technological innovation in the field of electrification and automation, and empowering a more sustainable and efficient future. When asked if China is part of ABB’s long-term strategy, Robian replied, “Very much! Very certain
China is moving towards a more prosperous future, in which ABB’s electrical and automation products and technologies play an important role.
01
As the first batch of foreign-funded enterprises to enter the Chinese market, how does “Early Bird” view the Chinese market?
ABB has long recognized China as a very important market and made the decision to achieve localization. We have established a local management team and local factories in China to help meet market demand.
ABB’s electrical and automation products and technologies are a part of our current social development and living standards. China is moving towards a more prosperous future, and our products and electrification technology play an important role in it.
China is now our second largest market globally, accounting for 17% to 18% of our total sales revenue, so this volume is huge. Currently, we have over 15000 employees in China, which indicates that China is a very, very important part of ABB Group.
02
Green development thinking in ABB’s red DNA
As an advocate for sustainable development, ABB is well aware of its important mission in China. For a long time, ABB has helped both innovative new technology companies in China and traditional basic industrial enterprises achieve green transformation, enabling them to have green solutions that not only meet their own needs but also provide global markets. Nowadays, ABB has 60% -70% of products that support green transformation, and China is becoming an important base for the development and production of these products. ABB is becoming a part of the global sustainable development process by contributing technological strength.
03
How does ABB respond to the different development needs of different markets in China?
I believe that Chinese customers are actually guiding ABB’s business development here. For example, in the western region, it can be said that ABB is our client in an earlier stage of development, and can make contributions in power grid construction and electrification construction. Of course, in some parts of China, the main target of ABB products is advanced industry. We help customers achieve increasingly efficient operations by providing more advanced automation products, such as robot solutions, PLC or process automation technology.
ABB’s rich product portfolio can provide matching products and services to customers in different regions of China.
04
How does ABB cope with unstable factors in the world?
Of course, we have also encountered challenges, such as inflation and supply chain issues, which have been challenging in the past few years. This is a challenging period, and ABB has chosen to use technology to enhance communication.
Firstly, ABB must support our customers.
Secondly, global companies like ABB have operations in almost every country around the world. We have implemented a localization strategy of ‘somewhere, for somewhere’, which means we strive to be as self-sufficient as possible in different regions.
Taking today’s China as an example, we have achieved 95% self-sufficiency, which means that our 27 companies in China, including all of our sales, development, and R&D centers, are supporting the local market. So I want to say that almost everything ABB sells here is produced in China.
About the Future
From a long-term perspective, we believe that China will play an important role in the current global transformation. As an important supplier of products to other regions of the world, its low-carbon process will also drive the development of automation, laying the foundation for our investment. We hope to become a part of this exciting future.
ABB needs to integrate into China’s development process, and China is naturally a part of ABB’s long-term strategy!