THE HAGUE, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The Netherlands-based global tech company Philips has a long-term commitment to the Chinese market and is committed to being a truly "local" global company in the Asian country, Andy Ho, Greater China president of Royal Philips, has told Xinhua.
"'In China, for China' is Philips' long-term commitment to the Chinese market," said Ho in a written interview with Xinhua recently.
Noting Philips' deep roots in China, Ho said that cooperation between the Netherlands and China has yielded fruitful results since the two countries established diplomatic ties 50 years ago.
"Philips set up its first joint venture in China in 1985 and was one of the first multinational companies to enter the Chinese market. Over the years, Philips has built advanced innovation capabilities in China to promote local innovation," said Ho.
He said China is Philips' second-largest market globally in terms of sales and one of its vital sources of innovation.
"Adhering to the commitment to China, Philips is advancing the local strategy in China by driving local innovation, local manufacturing, and partnering with local eco-system to deploy innovative resources in a more integrated way, so as to become further embedded in the Chinese healthcare ecosystem," he said.
Headquartered in Shanghai, Philips' commercial footprint in China covers over 600 cities with more than 8,000 employees. According to Ho, Philips provided products and solutions to 492 million Chinese people in 2021.
Philips' business in China covers research and development, manufacturing, go-to-market, sales and service, said Ho, citing its innovation centers and several manufacturing facilities located in Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, with products sold in China and overseas.
Philips is "fully committed to further grow and invest in China," Ho added.