October 11, 2002	Friday	Sha'aban 4, 1423

HONG KONG, Oct 10: China’s inevitable emergence as an global economic superpower should not be viewed with trepidation but as an opportunity, Samsung Electronics chief executive Yun Jong-Yong said on Thursday.

Speaking at a business luncheon, the head of the electronics giant said companies needed to establish a base in China and fully integrate operations in order to reap the maximum benefits.

China would definitely emerge as one of the economic superpowers one day, he said.

But whether China will overtake the whole world in every area, well, we should not take that perspective. Rather, because of China’s emergence as an economic superpower, then the whole world will benefit from that.

China should not be seen simply as a competitor but also from the perspective it possessed a “huge, vast market” and was an excellent location for production.

So in order to realise a win-win situation we must make advances into the Chinese market, work like a Chinese company, understand the Chinese market like a Chinese company and we should do everything just like a Chinese company.

However, the relative inexperience of China’s labour force in the area of production of high-end products meant the South Korean electonics giant, which has invested two billion dollars in China, would focus on manufacturing these items elsewhere, he added.

Samsung Electronics reported in July that its net profit for the second quarter more than doubled to $1.64 billion, adding it was on track for a record full year result despite concerns over the ongoing slump in the global technology industry. —AFP