At the same time, with our readjustment over the last 10 years and focus on infrastructure technologies like the transportation system, energy generation system and healthcare, as well as innovative products, I think we've had very good success, and from that point of view, I don't think it becomes difficult but certainly more competitive to do business here. Last year, for example, we reached 60.7 billion yuan ($8 billion) business, which I think is a very positive number. We set a goal to reach 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) in 2010, and we are optimistic about that.

We strongly believe that we have all of our focus fields now, highly competitive product lines and solution lines, and we will be successful.

Would you change some of the company's strategies in the Chinese market if you were given a chance to start over?

Looking back, that's always easy to say. We would probably have done things faster--forming joint venture companies faster, and maybe risking more. Certainly there were some temporary setbacks such as political issues or SARS. But overall, say in the last 30 years, we have grown well. In recent years, we are moving faster from a business point of view.

Siemens feels very much at home here in China, especially in Beijing. We feel very strongly to be an integrated part of the society. More than 99 percent of all the Siemens employees (about 50,000) in China are Chinese, so we believe strongly that we are in the way of a Chinese company.

Maybe one particular thing ready to change is the development of the people. There is a war for talent, and we are in that war here in China. We have to stay competitive. If I had the possibility of going 10 years back and being responsible for the company, I would send more Chinese people to Germany for more exchanges; there would be a larger managerial set of people available today. Right now, we have a training center in Beijing and other parts of the world as well. We are doing everything possible in terms of re-coaching, by sending our new staff back and forth and doing special programs to develop them. One day, my position will be localized. That's our goal.

Do you see any space for improvement with regard to the Chinese Government?

The government plays a very important role in investment in terms of setting overall boundary conditions.

As I said earlier, many things such as the anti-monopoly law, the new labor law and so forth, are on the right track. Although the IPR situation is improving, we still believe that there is quite some way to go, especially for Siemens as an innovation technology company that heavily relies on invention and patent. We support very much the efforts of the government to improve the situation not only in big cities, but also in provincial areas.

Sometimes we would love to see a clearer definition of laws and regulations. The new labor law, for instance--we are still waiting for the final detailed regulations. There was little efficiency, so it could be speeded up a bit. We are expecting governmental directions, and we believe that the direction is the right one because of the reform and opening-up policy.

Another thing we expect is an equal level playfield, so that there's no bias towards so-called "foreign companies," with regard to tenders or other matters. In some cases, it still seems impossible.

How do you view the Beijing Olympic Games?

China has moved to a more open, transparent and international way of doing things, like other countries. From a foreigner's point of view, many things here are really changing for the better.

The Olympic Games will be another vehicle for China, especially for Beijing, to show how much the country has changed. I think it will be a great event, since the preparations are at full speed already; the subway in Beijing is like that in New York; the new airport terminal is now open.

Tourists all over the world will come here to watch the games. With this large influx of tourists and international guests, it's a good opportunity for learning and knowing each other better. The fact that China is actively promoting environment-friendly technologies and so forth can be shown. Maybe not everything is great yet, but things are getting better.

Profile of Dr. Richard Hausmann

Born in 1960, he studied physics at Regensburg University and the State University of New York, obtaining his doctorate in physics.

He joined Siemens Medical Engineering Group in June 1988, and assumed his current position as President and CEO of Siemens Ltd., China, on January 1, 2005.