Hundreds of representatives from German and Chinese companies have gathered in the German city of Frankfurt for a conference to promote environmental and social best practices in business. The Chinese consulate in the European investment hub hosted the event. Trade between China and Germany was worth over a quarter of a trillion dollars in 2023.

‌Under the slogan 'Together For The Future,' more than 500 representatives of German and Chinese businesses gathered to discuss environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in investing and doing business.

Huang Yiyang, the Chinese Consul General in Frankfurt, told CGTN that developing ESG is part of the growth of Chinese industry in Europe.

‌"For these common values, we want to work together with the European partners and also to want to further enhance Chinese companies' image here, because we want to show the European public that we are not only good at a quality enterprise, but also good at it, with our ideas, our high standards on environmental and social responsibilities."

Put simply, ESG good practice means caring for people, society and the surrounding environment while developing a business. For Yu Yongsheng, General Manager of petrochemical giant Sinopec's Group Brand Department, that includes looking to develop the renewable sector further.

"We only have one beautiful Earth, which is the home of all of us. Green, low carbon development is important to the future of all human beings. ESG's development and innovation make sustainability possible. SINOPEC will continue to raise the ESG management standard, bring more benefits to shareholders, employees, business partners and society."

Working together

Ulrich Caspar, the President of the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce & Industry, supported the Together For The Future message of the conference and said that it's only through working together that the world's big challenges can be faced.

‌"I completely share your view that when we look at the environmental impacts, when we look at the changes in our environment, this is not something that one country in the world can solve alone," Caspar said.

"It can only be done if many important players get involved. You know the EU's position very well and we are pleased that China is also increasingly focusing on these issues and also seeing that it has the best long-term economic relations."

While ESG as a concept may have its roots in Europe, Dr Walter Doering, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economics for the State of Baden-Wurttemburg, says there are areas that German manufacturing can learn from China.

‌"I think at the moment it's the car manufacturing industry. It's very important because China is a bit better than Germany at the moment and therefore Germany has to learn from China. This is important when you see the ten cities, for instance, Beijing, millions of cars on the road and they all have to be e-cars."

Doering also dismissed those in Germany who have spoken about "de-risking" or even "decoupling" German economic development from China.

"Decoupling is the greatest nonsense you can talk about. You have the second largest and the third largest economies in the world. You can't decouple, how would that work? And China was the biggest partner of German industry in 2023 for the eighth time in a row. 'Decoupling' is just for politicians."

‌Learning from one another is crucial if businesses are to care about the planet as much as their bottom line.

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