German tech firm Schott AG is targeting a sharp acceleration in China, pledging to at least double the company's growth rate in the world's second-largest economy, with the country leveraging high-tech manufacturing and greater openness to foreign investment.

Torsten Derr, CEO and chairman of the management board of Schott AG, expected at least to double the growth rate in the Chinese market, outpacing China's economic expansion over a five — to six-year horizon.

"China has consistently ranked among Schott's top three markets, as China enters the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, which focuses on high-tech manufacturing and greater openness to foreign investment," he said.

The push comes as Schott deepens a "local-for-local" strategy, channeling capital into Chinese manufacturing, expanding its research footprint and granting greater autonomy to its roughly 1,000 staff members in the country.

"China is much more than a market. If you are not here and not talking to highly innovative customers, you are not innovative," he said.

Derr contrasted Germany's traditionally long-cycle, perfection-driven research model with what he described as China's faster, market-facing approach.

In China, teams move quickly from prototype to customer feedback, iterating in real time — a model Derr said is "less perfect, but faster".

He also offered insight on Europe's perceived "de-risking" approach from an enterprise perspective. "As a company with a footprint spanning over 30 countries and regions, this is about supply-chain diversification and building resilience, not disengagement."

Schott has spent the past decade strengthening its global operating model, instead of producing locally for local markets — a model that also cushions against potential trade restrictions.

The German firm also plans to scale up its China-based research and development teams and give them more flexibility, betting that combining European precision with Chinese speed will sharpen its competitive edge.

That shift is already visible in sectors where Schott sees outsized growth potential: semiconductors, augmented reality and pharmaceuticals.

Schott is ramping up its presence in AR, unveiling a full suite of optical solutions in Beijing earlier this month and expanding its AR technology center in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The company has spent eight years developing waveguide technologies — a core component for smart glasses — and says it holds a two — to three-year lead over competitors.

While the high-end AR market is currently dominated by the United States, Derr expects China to become a major production base within three years, prompting early investment in local engineering and R&D capacity.

In semiconductors, Schott supplies specialty glass components used in chip manufacturing, including lithography-related parts and etching rings.

It is also developing glass-based substrates that could replace traditional resin materials in chip packaging — potentially boosting chip speed by 50 percent while reducing heat by 40 percent, according to Derr.

Derr's bold stance contrasts with a narrative among some foreign firms of scaling back exposure to China on concerns about the pace of economic growth and rising geopolitical risks.

For Schott, the calculation is straightforward: future growth — and increasingly, innovation itself — will be anchored in China. "We want to be where the market is," Derr said. "And the market is here."