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This Week in AsiaEconomics

Carlos Ghosn bets on China economy, calls on Japan to fix ‘outdated’ justice system

  • The former CEO turned international fugitive says he is done with corporate life but is still watching the world of business, including China’s carmakers
  • Ghosn, who fled the country in 2019 while facing financial misconduct charges, is releasing his memoir and is seeking to restore his legacy

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Carlos Ghosn was credited with turning around Renault and Nissan from near bankruptcy. File photo: AFP
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Carlos Ghosn may no longer sit atop the corporate hierarchy, but he hasn’t taken his eye off the world of business – including China’s meteoric economic rise.
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In an interview with This Week in Asia, the legendary Nissan CEO-turned-international fugitive predicted China’s economy would go from strength to strength, and that Chinese carmakers would someday be seen in a similar light as prestigious brands such as BMW.
“I have no doubt about this,” said Ghosn, who caused an international sensation in 2019 when he fled Japan hidden inside a musical instrument case while facing financial misconduct charges. “I want to remind you that when the Japanese started building cars, they were cheap and low-quality cars.”

Ghosn, 67, who ranked among the corporate world’s most celebrated leaders before his spectacular downfall, said China was transforming from a nation of fast followers to innovators at the cutting edge of emerging industries such as autonomous vehicles and electric cars.

“One of the areas to follow is in the car industry,” said Ghosn, who has consistently denied wrongdoing and cast himself as a victim of a plot by Nissan executives and Japan’s “hostage justice system”.

“They are already the largest car market in the world. They now have companies competing on the world stage, whereas a few years ago they were really not very competent at all. They are investing in new technology.”

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Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn in Lebanon after fleeing ‘rigged Japanese justice system’

Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn in Lebanon after fleeing ‘rigged Japanese justice system’

Ghosn, who lives in Lebanon to avoid an outstanding Interpol notice for his arrest and extradition, said he believed China could avoid the stagnation that plagued Japan following its rapid economic rise by relying on its huge internal market and a “dynamism” absent from its East Asian neighbour.

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