All eyes on Asia

The world economy's center of growth has been shifting to the Asia-Pacific region, where more than half of the world's population lives. This dynamic area is a key market for export-oriented German companies. For the 14th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, politicians and industry leaders are meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's economic hub, from Nov. 20-22, 2014.

Vietnam is one of the low-wage countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines are often labeled "tigers," because many believe they will soon make the transition from being developing countries to industrialized ones. Japan, South Korea and Singapore are high-tech players due to their cutting-edge technology sectors and infrastructure.

Since the year 2000, German exports to Southeast Asia have been growing at a rate twice as fast as German exports in general. One country that has been fueling this rise is China - German sales to the world's most populous nation have almost quadrupled. Exports to the region's low-wage economies have also significantly increased.

Machinery and automobile equipment are among Germany's top exports to the region. Many Asian goods are produced with German machines, and German auto makers often manufacture their cars in the region. Volkswagen, for instance, builds one of its Golf models in a factory in Foshan, a city in Guangdong province in southern China.

The countries of the Asia-Pacific region have vastly increased their imports since 1990. German companies have profited from this development, although their share of total imports has fallen steadily. Nowadays, South Korea is exporting about twice as much to China as Germany. That compares to 1990, when Germany dwarfed Korea in sales to China.

In Japan, South Korea and India, German exporters have been losing market share, while China has continually strengthened its position and is now the region's leading supplier. Numerous free trade agreements facilitate the exchange of goods between countries in the Asia-Pacific area. Only South Korea and Singapore have signed trade agreements with the European Union.

Many Asian firms also invest in Germany. By total volume, Japan is by far the biggest, but the number of Chinese investments has increased strongly in recent years. There are now more Chinese companies in Germany than Japanese ones. Overall, companies from the Asia-Pacific region have created 180,000 jobs in Germany, according to the business intelligence publisher, Bureau van Dijk.

Some Asian companies just buyout their German competitors. Sany, a Chinese maker of construction equipment, paid more than half a billion euros in 2012 to acquire Putzmeister, the global leader in concrete pumps. In the same year, Weichai Power, a state-owned engine specialist, bought a large stake in Wiesbaden-based Kion-Group, a maker of forklifts, for 700 million euros.