eu policy vis a vis china, germany is now leading the way to have a stronger european position but not only in a defensive way, meaning to fend off unequal and unfair practices from china, but also in a more assertive way. after all, we can be rather self confident in the systemic rivalry. in the systemic rivalry we are entertaining with china because the european union is a strong and innovative single market and we are really competitive. 0ur companies are competitive and we need to strengthen the hand of our companies in this global competition. i want to ask you specifically about trade and the economy because on the one hand, germany wants to reduce dependence on critical technologies but german car companies sell about a third of their vehicles in china. and in april, the chemicals company basf announced their plans to spend 10 billion euros on a new chemical production complex there.
incredibly heavy police response. charges coming in and push the protesters back and keep them away from here. this is where the decision was made. it is worth pointing out that people we spoke to came from one side of the argument. they do represent the majority view in france, but there is a significant minority that backs the president and his reforms. and the point the president made, which of course we wouldn t have heard here today, this is essentialfor reforming a system the government is saying is unaffordable. i was reading the newspaper today and they say at the moment a quarter of the french population is over 60 but within 20 years it will be more than a third of the population. there is a third of the population. there is a concern of the budget and the affordability. they say there is a deficit by the end of the decade of more than 10 billion euros and that is why the government wants to get this through. i think they probably will do now, the decision taken in
generation of electric cars, could subsidies influence your decision? let s talk to somebody who is tackling just that. wayne griffiths is the boss of seat. thank you for being on the programme this week, and talk to me about that investment you are making in electric battery production there. how important were subsidies in making that decision? the total investment and togethe, and we at seat with their partners, it is a 10 billion euros investment in electrifying spain, and that investment is split across different areas. as well as developing small electric cars that we re going to build here in spain in our two plants. the other is preparing the plants, so the plants themselves need to be prepared for electrification. then the big news last week where we were laying the foundation with the prime minister and the king of spain for the first gigafactory battery plant in spain in valencia.
wayne griffiths is the boss of sayat thank you for being on the programme this week and talk to me about that investment you are making. electric battery production there. how important were subsidies in making that decision? the total investment and together with their partners, it is a 10 billion euros investment in electrifying spain and that investment is split across different areas. developing small electric cars that we re going to build here in spain in our two plants. the other is preparing the plants, so the plants themselves need to be prepared for electrification then the big news last week where we were laying the foundation with the prime minister and the king of spain for the first gigafactory battery plant in spain in valencia. when you look around the world to see where you might expand operations, how influential is that subsidy in where you establish? it is playing a key role at the moment and we have
industries, maybe we need to think even further ahead of the game and look at hydrogen and further on because it does seem to be a waste of time to try to catch up with china. thank you so much. really good to have your thoughts on the programme. what impact does this have on business? if you are a car maker deciding where to make your next generation of electric cars, could subsidies influence your decision? let s talk to somebody who is tackling just that. wayne griffiths is the boss of seat thank you for being on the programme this week and talk to me about that investment you are making. in electric battery production there. how important were subsidies in making that decision? the total investment and together with our partners, it is a 10 billion euros investment in electrifying spain and that investment is split