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Andrew Au, chief executive officer of Citi China
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China's slower GDP growth is still the envy of the world, says CEO of Citi China
Despite many in world business remaining increasingly concerned about the slowdown in theChinese economy, Andrew Au still insists the "China story" remains very much alive.
The chief executive officer of Citi China says before anyone gets too carried away writing off theworld's second-largest economy, they should keep firmly in mind that although China may begrowing at a slower pace, the absolute size of its incremental GDP generated every year is stillconsiderably bigger than before.
"Even at more managed growth of between 6 percent and 7 percent, China's GDP number is stillthe envy of the world," said the country head of the US bank which has offices in every corner ofthe globe.
"You have to look beyond the economic cycle. Our long-term strategy in China is well thought out.It is, as its name implies, long-term in nature. China is a marathon, not a sprint."
Citi's commitment to China during what has appeared to the outside world as a troubledeconomic cycle, he said, stems from its long history here, which dates back to 1902 when it firstestablished an office in Shanghai.
A 31-year veteran of Citigroup Inc, Au joined the banking giant in 1984 after it had re-entered theChinese mainland in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, a year earlier.
It was fully incorporated in China in 2007, and he was named CEO of Citi China the followingyear.
After seven years at the local helm, he said its long and solid local track record here and itscommitment to always putting its clients first means the company has been able to build itsbusiness in the country and expand its business.
Citi has strong retail and institutional businesses in China and was the first global bank to launcha sole branded credit card in 2012.
But maybe just as important, it has been able to hold onto its staff and become an integral part ofnot only the country's business community, but of its local community well beyond banking.
Over the past decade, as an increasing number of Chinese companies have expanded theirpresence globally, this has played strongly to Citi's strengths of having an international networkcovering more than 100 countries and territories.
"There is so much talk of emerging global champions among the Fortune 500, and it's importantto realize that 92 of those companies as of 2014 are currently from China," Au said. He addedthat the bank's priority is to ensure these Chinese global champions are using Citi's globalnetwork as they expand.
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