Chinese innovation fosters win-win at Hannover fair

HANNOVER, Germany — When Yang Yingge made her debut at the Hannover Messe, Germany's leading annual industrial trade fair, she was surprised to find that her company had attracted much attention.

"We secured our first contract on the very first day of the event and many foreign companies expressed keen interest in collaboration upon witnessing our high-precision industrial CT measuring equipment," said Yang, vice-president of Royma Optoelectronics Technology (Beijing) Co Ltd.

"This (the event) provided us, a private enterprise, a valuable opportunity to showcase our capabilities on the global stage and also illuminated new opportunities and collaborative prospects with our foreign counterparts," she said.

This year's Hannover Messe attracted almost 4,000 exhibitors from around 60 countries and regions. Chinese exhibitors accounted for 30 percent of the participants, second only to hosts Germany, according to the organizer.

A 1.6-meter-tall white humanoid robot, standing in front of the booth of Sichuan Fdrobot Co Ltd, could, with graceful precision, execute complex actions that attracted waves of onlookers.

The robot weighed only 43 kilograms and consisted of 71 movable parts. "We expect to achieve a phased breakthrough this year when the robot will be equipped with communication capabilities and can assist in simple tasks such as folding clothes and other household chores," said Hu Tianlian, chairman of the company.

"At this year's Hannover Messe, we have signed preliminary cooperation agreements with enterprises from Germany, Italy, Brazil, India, and beyond. Through this event, we aspire to not only expand our business, but also showcase China's advanced robot technology to the world," Hu said.

During an investment forum hosted by Taicang in East China's Jiangsu province, the Taicang government sealed two agreements with German enterprises, with the total value of investment exceeding 30 million yuan ($4.14 million).

HCP GmbH, a German pharmaceutical and healthcare enterprise that has ventured into the Chinese market, inked a deal at the forum with the Chinese local government to set up a live e-commerce base in the city to enhance brand visibility and accessibility.

"The cooperation marks our first stride in expanding into the Chinese market, and it is a pivotal and solid step," said Ao Miaomiao, general manager of HCP GmbH.

For eight consecutive years, China has maintained its position as Germany's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade soaring to over 200 billion euros ($214 billion) in 2023.

"This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Germany comprehensive strategic partnership. The in-depth integration of the industrial and supply chains between the two sides underlines their mutual reliance on each other's markets," said Xu Hui, head of the German office of Jiangsu Taicang Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone.

"We are working to attract more German enterprises to Taicang," Xu said.

According to a survey conducted by AHK Greater China, 78 percent of German companies are optimistic about China's economic outlook and 85 percent believe that the nation's embrace of innovation is on the rise.

Thomas Scheler, general manager of the German-Chinese Business Association, emphasized that Germany's investment in China soared to an unprecedented level in 2023, underlining the significance of collaboration between China and Germany.

"German enterprises hold a positive outlook toward the vast and stable Chinese market and the Hannover Messe serves as a platform for reinforcing the mutual commitment to win-win cooperation between the two countries," Scheler said.

Xinhua