Andy Walti, head of Clariant's China region

The Chinese government has taken unprecedented measures to restrain the outbreak of the coronavirus. From the dropping cases of confirmed infection outside of Wuhan since the second half of February, we can make the safe judgment that at least some of these measures have made an impact on getting the outbreak increasingly under control in the country.

As one of the leading specialty chemical companies in China, Clariant has huge confidence in the long-term prospect in China. We believe China will remain the growth engine of the global economy, and the global chemical industry's future success will rely heavily on business from China. Clariant will remain committed to our 'Fringe to Core' approach to drive even more growth from China by executing several of our major investment projects here over the next three to four years, so that we can develop more products from within China for the specific needs of the market here.

Everything moves much faster here in China, and I believe it's the same with business recovery. I am really looking forward to getting back on track with everyone else in China and working together to continue building our future.