Jochen Kirkorowicz (right), chief executive officer of Foehl China Co, inspects his company's operations in Taicang, Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As the chief executive officer of Foehl China Co, Jochen Kirkorowicz, or Qi Han in Chinese, has lived in China for almost 11 years and obtained a permanent residence certificate earlier this year.

Kirkorowicz's relatives asked him to return to Germany after the start of the outbreak, but he turned them down with little hesitation. "My family and employees are here and if I leave, it's like a ship losing its captain. I want to stay and help in the fight against the virus," he said.

Founded in 2005, Foehl China manufactures products used in automobile seats, seat belts, and antennae. About 250 people work for the company.

About 60 percent of the company's employees have now returned to work, but the company remains shorthanded.

Kirkorowicz is offering incentives to employees who return to work before late February, as well as training to help staff take up vacant posts.

"The epidemic will surely have a huge impact on us, and we're trying hard to keep the production line running," said Kirkorowicz.

"The goal is to guarantee zero-mistake deliveries to customers because we are producing life-saving products," he said.

"It's amazing how the Chinese government is handling this complicated issue (the novel coronavirus outbreak), and I think the world can learn from China's control and prevention measures," said Kirkorowicz.