... that many German machines are "over-functioning" for the needs of customers in China. The Mannheim researchers fear that there is therefore a high risk of these customers migrating to local Chinese competitors. The mid-market segment is particularly important for the future positioning of German machine manufacturers in China, as according to the survey it will develop into the largest sub-segment of Chinese mechanical engineering in the next three to five years: from 34.3 percent of the total market today to 40.3 percent in three to five years. According to the study, the middle market segment will also see the strongest growth with an increase of six percent.