My CIIE Story ? Prominent Platform | Aspiration to build a career in China helps me brave 9,000-km trip

Editor's Note: The fifth China International Import Expo is closer as September had come. The "My CIIE Story" activity, which was launched on June 1, has drawn a great deal of attention and many people have shared their experiences related to the expo. A series of works themed on "grand strategy" and "big market" were published in July and August. In September, more stories with the theme "prominent platform", which showcase how the CIIE turns exhibits into commodities and exhibitors into investors, will be released.

I am from Aarhus, Denmark and a senior director of global product management at Grundfos' commercial building services.

Grundfos has participated in all editions of the China International Import Expo and supplied air conditioning systems to the expo's venue – the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

In light of the growing importance of the Chinese market in Grundfos' global business, I came to realize at the beginning of 2021 that it would be a great opportunity for me to build a career in China. My wife and two kids were very supportive after learning about my plan and excited about starting a new life in a different country.

After making the decision to move to Shanghai, my wife resigned from her job to prepare for our big move. However, the COVID-19 pandemic worsened and it did not seem possible to move to China. We had to put aside the plan and my wife got back to work.

After the situation improved, we rented out our house, booked the air tickets and packed our luggage in June 2022. Unfortunately, our flight was cancelled due to a strike by the pilots of Scandinavian Airlines. We had to wait two weeks until July 25 to board a plane in Copenhagen.

We transferred at Amsterdam before reaching China, where we underwent a 10-day quarantine at a hotel in Xiamen. We finally arrived in Shanghai on Aug 7. During the 14-day trip, I often told myself that good things never come easy and the aspiration to live in China helped me to overcome the long and hard journey.

Shanghai is a city replete with vigor and hope. It is home to many commercial buildings, including new ones that are being built and old ones that need renovation. China's carbon peak and neutrality goals require its construction industry to go green and this creates tremendous opportunities for Grundfos.

Debuting innovative and new green products at the CIIE is a priority at the company. We will showcase the GiM China MVP3, a digital platform that can offer feasible energy saving solutions to energy-intensive industries, as well as NK/NKE pumps that have high reliability and low maintenance costs, at this year's expo.

I am looking forward to meeting partners and introducing green technologies from Denmark at the fifth expo.

The author is the senior director of global product management at Grundfos' commercial building services. He is responsible for digital and prefabricated water solutions.