Chinese state investment firm to avoid US and look to Europe in pursuit of tech assets as trade row deepens
China Jianyin Investment is targeting robotics as a priority area as the country’s workforce ages
China Jianyin Investment, the equity investment group spun out from China Construction Bank, will avoid the US market in its pursuit of overseas technology acquisitions as trade tensions between the two countries increase.
Kenny He Wenjin, chief executive of JIC Investment, a unit of Jianyin that focuses on investment in manufacturing businesses, said Germany and other parts of Europe were now its key target markets.
“We will now avoid making deals in the United States,” he said. “JIC wants to be practical and we are looking for smart manufacturing assets abroad that can fit well with the Chinese market.
“It is not the transaction value that matters. We want to bring the world’s best technologies to China and meld them with China’s own manufacturers to make world-class products.”
Robotics is a priority for the company, he said, noting that China's working population – those aged between 16 and 59 – is likely to fall to about 700 million by 2050, down from the current 900 million-plus, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.