Cleaning house
In recent years, there have been multiple international media reports claiming that "the Chinese investment environment is worsening."
However, Müller said such reports are written simply because negative news about China often sells well in Germany.
Müller's personal understanding of China's ongoing anti-corruption campaign, along with its tightening investment policies, is in fact a metaphor for "cleaning up the living room in one's own household."
"The Chinese government aims to provide a more transparent legal and investment environment," Müller told the Global Times. "In the long term, it will better serve Chinese people and also better greet foreign guests. Right now the free trade zones are a good practice," he added.
"The world shall learn from the business model of the Chinese government," declared Breslein.
"I like very much the new plan from President Xi Jinping," he said, referring to the development strategies announced during the recent 19th National Congress of Communist Party of China.
Breslein said he is a personal fan of Xi. "I ordered the book Xi Jinping: the Governance of China to my hometown for Christmas. I am looking forward to reading it and learning."
Breslein said he sees China now as a stabilizing factor for the world. "In the US, you have the trouble of Donald Trump. In the European Union, you have a currency union rather than a country union. So China has become a stabilizing factor for world peace," he said.
"For the Chinese government's 13th Five-year Plan, what do you find in there? Infrastructure and railway. Copy and paste, company strategy," said Breslein.
Communist roots
Statistics show that Taicang's investment is booming. "The GDP, gross value of industry output and tax revenue have all increased by two digits every year," Yu told the Global Times.
Yu said that Taicang attaches "great importance" to vocational education and training for both local residents and youngsters from other parts of China, as talent is a key factor for its development. To learn from German experience, several dual-mode vocational training centers have been established since 2001.
The centers' teaching faculty and textbooks are all from Germany, which guaranteed talent supply to the high-tech zone. Since 2001, nearly 10,000 students have graduated.
"In the early days, Chinese employees would switch from one job to another just to earn an extra one yuan. This has changed recently," Müller observed. "I want our Chinese employees to be active and be part of the company, not just to take commands from the boss."
Breslein agrees with Müller on this point. "We are one big family and one big team. You can feel the communistic roots. You are in a country where you get orders top-down...I'd like to encourage them to take on more responsibilities."
Breslein added that "Chinese employees adapt quickly, and are very fast to implement a new project."
When it comes to commingling Chinese and German work styles, Müller said that, "for Germans, before we make a decision, it takes a long time. Chinese will do exactly the other way around. They prefer working on projects in a hurry and make adjustments during the process. Together, these two systems - the Chinese pragmatic approach and the cautiousness of Germans - work quite well."
Yu told the Global Times that an estimated 300 Chinese companies supply parts to German corporations, which has helped locals learn from German advanced technology, management concepts, and strict quality requirements.
"Chinese SMEs are eager and willing to keep up with the German pace in innovation and internationalization," Yu said.
In Müller's opinion, China has great potential in developing its own Hidden Champions thanks to the rising number of overseas returnees. "Every year, hundreds of thousands of Chinese graduates of foreign universities return to China. They come back with a world-class education to start their own businesses here."
"These young entrepreneurs are no longer the 'granny with a Mao suit.' They have a totally different mindset," he said.
