(Yicai Global) March 1 -- The chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., the carmaker that stole the headlines last weekend by taking an almost 10 percent stake in Daimler AG, does not seek a seat on the auto giant's board after the surprise move stoked German concerns over the Chinese firm's intentions.

"Geely abides by German law and Daimler's articles of association, respects its corporate governance structure, and works openly and transparently, Li Shufu was quoted as saying by German weekly Bild am Sonntag. "I'm therefore not requesting a seat on its supervisory board, which is not my current focus."

Hangzhou-based Geely spent USD9 billion building up an almost 9.7 percent stake in the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, becoming its biggest shareholder, it said on Feb. 24. That raised concerns over the possible transfer of prized German know-how in technology and innovation. As Geely did not reveal its plans, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is investigating a possible breach of disclosure rules. The country's Securities Trading Act says investors must notify a listed company and BaFin when they hold stakes of 3, 5, 10 and 15 percent.

A supervisory board, or Aufsichtsrat, is prescribed by German law for certain corporate governance forms and exercises wide powers to receive early notice of matters and events, formulate and approve resolutions, and plan the future development of the management board.

Li and Geely are barred from this oversight committee since the Chinese automaker owns shares of AB Volvo and all of Volvo Car Corp., which compete with Daimler. Renault-Nissan BV, which has a more than 3 percent stake in Daimler, together with its senior executives, likewise has no representative on Daimler's supervisory board.

Geely's interest in Daimler stems from its expertise in electric vehicle technology, especially batteries, insiders have said. A future technology partnership between the two could give Geely an upper hand in the development of new energy vehicles at home and abroad. NEVs are gaining worldwide prominence as many nations look to end fuel-powered vehicle production. Some of the world's top carmakers, including Daimler, are pouring money into plug-in vehicles as they capture a larger and larger share of the market.

"Only by achieving cooperation can this equity investment make sense," Li told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Feb. 25. "We must achieve strategic cooperation in all of our investments and share ownerships to serve our core industry. This is strategic thinking."

The stake purchase is not the first time that Geely has taken an interest in Daimler. It planned to become the firm's third-largest investor last year by acquiring new shares worth 3 to 5 percent of total stock. But Daimler rejected the plan, which would have diluted its equity. Geely then turned to the secondary market.