FRANKFURT, May 25 (Xinhua) -- A recent survey conducted by the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) among its members showed that China is "sending positive signals," the association said on Monday.
"As many as 62 percent of the local members surveyed qualify their business situation as satisfactory, the remaining 13 percent even assess the situation as good," said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers in a statement.
The association said that mechanical engineering companies whose customers primarily serve the Chinese market are likely to do better than their export-oriented peers in the foreseeable future.
"The Chinese economy is picking up again, even though the situation there has not yet completely eased," Wiechers said.
The VDMA has been conducting regular surveys among its members since the pandemic broke out. The most recent one, in which 724 companies took part in early May, showed that nine out of ten saw themselves as being affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the association noted a slight easing of tension on the supply side. Many mechanical engineering companies reported that the difficulties with supplies from China in particular are easing, according to a separate statement from the VDMA on the survey results.
Oliver Wack, an expert at the association's department of foreign trade, said the easing is not only related to the restart of production in China, but also to the improvement of the logistics chains from and to China.
"It is important that the customer branches in China resume work. This will help to continue with projects, completing installations and providing service," Wack told Xinhua in a written statement. "However, travel restrictions remain a problem." Enditem
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