China-Germany Innovation Cooperation Platform: Chinese companies seek technology and markets

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Europe

02:58

One of the main focuses of Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Berlin is to develop business and technology ties. Chinese companies have been increasing their investment in Germany, and many of them have set up research and development centers there. CGTN's Ira Spitzer paid a visit to one of them.

This little circuit board is a sign of a much bigger collaboration between two of the world's leading industrial nations. The Chinese company Hang Sheng expanded its operations to Berlin five years ago.

LEO XIA DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, HANGSHENG TECHNOLOGY "We have to have the local Europe footprint, for our customers here in Europe."

Hang Sheng Germany's focus is research and development for the connected technology which will be used in the automobiles of the future. Their main customers are European automakers who are always looking for new technology and suppliers to enhance their business, worth over half a trillion dollars annually.

LEO XIA DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, HANGSHENG TECHNOLOGY "And in the year twenty seventeen, we successfully delivered to a major car manufacturer here in Germany. And now we have a lot of opportunity with the new technology we've developed here."

What Hangsheng is doing here fits in a push by the Chinese government for more high-tech manufacturing.

It was inspired by Berlin's own similar strategy, called Industrie 4.0, and Germany has become a key location for Chinese companies.

"It's also a good place because a lot of automotive technology you can find here and we would cooperate with other companies on new technologies, and provide these technologies back also to China."

IRA SPITZER BERLIN "But the relationship between China and Germany hasn't been completely smooth in recent years. Berlin has long sought more reciprocity for German companies who have complained about the regulations they face doing business in China."

Beijing has also taken issue with the increased scrutiny of Chinese buyers investing in or purchasing German firms, which hit record levels last year. China's premier addressed those issues during German chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to China in May.

LI KEQIANG CHINESE PREMIER "We believe that both China and Germany should strengthen and carry out mutual investment in a more open and inclusive attitude. The door of China is open and it will be opened wider and wider."

While some of those concerns remain unresolved, both China and Germany have repeatedly expressed commitment to global free trade, and opposition to the recent protectionist measures in the United States. Here at Hangsheng, and globally, at the moment it appears that both countries see a clear benefit in working together. Ira Spitzer, CGTN, Berlin.