本文全文转载自《中国日报》（China Daily）2017年10月25日商业版头版报道。（报道为英文，以下中文译文由巴斯夫提供）。
Sustainability will be
major economic factor
可持续发展将成为影响经济的要素
Editor's Note:
编者按：
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China ended in Beijing on Tuesday.In the runup to the meeting, China Daily asked business leaders from majormultinational companies for their views on economic developments here and thecountry's global leadership role. 中国共产党第十九次全国代表大会于本周二在北京落幕。大会开幕前，中国日报网采访了几大跨国公司领导，询问他们对中国经济发展及中国全球领导地位的看法。
Stephan Kothrade is president functions Asia-Pacific, as well aspresident and chairman of BASF Greater China, part of the world's largestchemical company based in Germany.
柯迪文是全球最大化工企业巴斯夫的亚太区总裁（职能管理），同时担任这家德国公司的大中华区总裁兼董事长。
How has the Chinese economy performed so far this yearand what are your projections for 2018?今年以来中国经济表现如何？您对2018年中国经济的表现有何预测？
For the first seven months, GDP (gross domestic product)has been stable at 6.9 percent, so China's full-year outlook is likely to behigher than expected.今年前七个月，中国的GDP（国内生产总值）稳定在6.9％，所以全年增长率可能高于预期。
A robust economy continues to drive investment anddomestic consumption, while chemical demand in China is expected to continue tooutpace other countries.强劲的经济继续推动着投资和国内消费，而对化学品的需求预计仍将超过其他国家。
Businesses can take advantage of the huge base as adriver of regional and global economic growth. In particular, the emphasis onsustainable development in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) creates enormousopportunities for BASF. 企业可以利用这一巨大体量来推动其区域乃至全球经济增长。特别是“十三五”规划（2016-2020）所强调的可持续发展，更为巴斯夫创造了巨大的机遇。
We can provide solutions to reduce energy consumption andincrease standards of living to name just a few examples. Sustainability willbecome a major factor in the future and chemistry is crucial to innovativesolutions. 举例而言，我们可以提供减少能源消耗、提高生活水平的解决方案。可持续发展将成为未来的一大影响要素，而化学则对创新解决方案至关重要。
What factors will boost growth this year and in 2018, and what are the challenges facing China's economy? 今年以及2018年，哪些因素会促进经济增长？中国经济又将面临哪些挑战？
Current growth (6.9 percent in the first three quarters)proves China has solid fundamentals. This is due to the various initiatives toboost globalization and sustainable development. For example, the emphasis oninnovation and smart manufacturing is particularly relevant to the chemicalindustry. 当前增长率（前三季度为6.9％）证明中国有着扎实的基础。这是由于其采取了促进全球化和可持续发展的各种举措。例如，强调创新和智能制造，这对化学工业来说意义尤其重大。
The number of chemical patents from China now accountsfor about 50 percent of them worldwide. Environmental issues are also hottopics among the general public, as well as the policymakers. 如今，中国申请的化学领域的专利数量占全球50％左右。环境问题也受到大众以及决策者的关注。
Under this backdrop, the biggest challenge in thechemical industry is the lack of trust from the public. To tackle this requirescombined efforts from multinational and local companies, and collaborationamong all partners along the value chain. We can only gain trust through highenvironmental performance and open dialogue. 在这种背景下，化学工业面临的最大挑战是公众信任度低。要应对这个问题，需要跨国公司和本土企业的共同努力，以及价值链中所有合作伙伴之间的协作。我们只有通过良好的环境绩效和公开对话，才能赢得信任。
As a Fortune 500 company, which sectors do you think offer most opportunities for development? 作为财富500强企业之一，您认为哪些行业最具发展前景？
China has witnessed the fastest growth in the worldduring the past three decades. The Made in China 2025 strategy outlines ambitiousgoals for developing 10 industries. 在过去三十年中，中国是全球增长最快的国家。《中国制造2025》战略明确了十大重点领域的发展目标。
These new sectors represent science and technology.Chemistry is the basis for various innovations, such as new materials forinsulation, catalysts to reduce emissions and battery materials for electriccars, to name a few. 这些新领域都瞄准科技，而化学正是科技创新的基础，从新型保温隔热材料，减少排放的催化剂到电动车的电池材料等领域，化学都能大显身手。
What opportunities will the Belt and Road Initiative throw up for China and the rest of the world?“一带一路”建设会给中国及世界其他地区带来哪些机遇？
This is all about connecting people, resources and ideas.They are the three core elements which create business opportunities for localand multinational companies.关键在于连接人、资源和创意，这些是为本土企业和跨国公司创造商机的三大核心要素。
For the chemical industry, in particular, the Belt andRoad Initiative has the potential to create a wide variety of indirectopportunities. This is because solutions from the world of chemistry play animportant role in enabling faster and more sustainable construction, greaterenergy efficiency, and better infrastructure. 特别是对于化工工业而言，“一带一路”倡议有可能创造各种间接的商机。这是因为来自化工行业的解决方案在实现更快、更可持续的建设、更高的能源效率和更完善的基础设施方面发挥着重要作用。
How do you view China's business environment and whatwill be BASF's investment strategy? 您如何看待中国的商业环境？巴斯夫会采取何种投资策略？
We believe the key fundamentals of economic growth,including the chemical industry in China, are intact. The industrialtransformation has created continuous demand for chemistry innovation. 我们认为包括化工在内的中国经济增长的基本面是没有改变的。产业转型则要求化工行业不断突破创新。
We are, therefore, strongly committed to strengtheningour local production and innovation here. Chemical production in China alreadyaccounts for a third of global production. 因此，巴斯夫致力于加强在华生产和创新的投入。如今中国的化工产量已经占全球产量的三分之一。
From 2017 to 2021, we have a planned capital expenditureof around 3 billion euros ($3.53 billion) for Asia-Pacific. A fair share ofthat will go to China. 2017年到2021年，我们计划在亚太地区投资约30亿欧元（35.3亿美元），其中相当一部分将落在中国。
How can China achieve stable and sustainable economicgrowth? 中国应如何实现稳定而可持续的经济增长？
We hope the reform efforts of the 13th Five-year Plan, aswell as the awareness of the economic headwinds and the need to upgradeenvironmental standards, will lead to further opening up of the economy. 我们希望“十三五”规划的改革进程，以及对经济不利因素的充分意识和提高环保标准的需要，能促进经济的进一步开放。
This means deregulating areas where foreign businessesare constrained. 这意味着放松一些领域对外国企业的管制。
The active participation of multinational companies iscrucial as China becomes a major player in the global economic arena. 随着中国成为全球经济舞台上的主要参与者，跨国公司的积极参与更显重要。
BASF is the largest foreign investor in China's chemicalindustry. We see the next wave of economic development as being the integrationof value chains in clusters. Again, this means from upstream sources, such aschemical manufacturing, to downstream industries, such as automotive andelectronics. 巴斯夫是中国化工行业最大的外商投资企业。我们预测下一轮经济发展将是集群价值链的整合。同样，这意味着从化学制造等上游产业到汽车和电子等下游产业的整合。
Such an integrated approach is efficient and effective.It will also create combined benefits for employment and economic development,as well as producing a better quality of life. Sustainable growth will beachieved as a whole across the country. 这是一种高效而有效的整合方法，也将为就业和经济发展创造出综合效益，实现更好的生活质量，从而实现整个国家总体的可持续增长。