The third German-Chinese Automobile Congress kicked off in Bavaria, Germany. More than 400 participants gathered to discuss a wide range of topics, including industry cooperation and future technologies. Company representatives, government officials and experts from China and Germany attending the auto industry conference said they expect to see strengthened cooperation between the two countries in the auto sector and related fields.

Germany, a quality carmaker, is one of only a handful of Western economies to have broken into China as a major export market. In 2018, nearly a quarter of cars sold in China are from German companies. According to consulting firm Roland Berger's report, Chinese and German collaboration was key amid increasing external pressures.

"China is already the world's largest auto market, including in the clean energy car sector. In the future, the cooperation will be beneficial not only for Chinese but also German companies," said Shen Yiyang, a senior energy consultant with the Asian Development Bank.

As the domestic competition for clean energy vehicles keeps heating up, homegrown and foreign brands are all trying to get a share in the country's clean vehicle pie via the supply chain, including batteries and design.

In terms of the green auto supply chain, Shen believes that "the market is now crowded, low-efficiency automakers will be eliminated eventually, so the cooperation between China and foreign companies will get more attention, not only the wholesale part but also the green supply chain."