Shanxi learns about German industry

The 2018 Shanxi Brands Silk Road Tour (Europe) delegation arrived in Berlin, Germany, on Sept 3, starting their three-day visit to the country.

During the period, they had a chance to observe Germany's high-end manufacturing industry and developments in technology and innovation, learned about the country's advanced experience in economic restructuring and reached out for more cooperation opportunities with local firms.

The delegation's first stop was the Adlershof Science City, one of the most successful high-technology locations in Germany. At present, a total of 904 firms and 28 research institutes are based there with a bankruptcy rate for start-up companies of only 1.5.

Besides office buildings, Adlershof contains several colleges of the Humboldt University of Berlin. A range of supporting facilities, such as apartments, shopping malls, hotels, hospitals, schools, golf course and parks, round out the city, providing essential services for 18,000 employees and 7,000 students.

After visiting the city, Li Guizeng, Party committee secretary of the Taiyuan Stainless Steel Industrial Park, admired the layout planning of Adlershof and the close connections among universities, research institutes and firms there.

In the afternoon, the delegation had talks with local firms at the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Potsdam is the capital of Brandenburg. Similar to Shanxi province, Brandenburg is currently restructuring from coal to new energy and service industries.

Two Shanxi and two German firms made promotions for their projects during the talks. The biodegradable polyester technology introduced by Shanxi Jinzhao Group aroused local firms' interest in further cooperation.

The delegation visited Berlin Center for Economic, Trade and Technology Promotion and Cooperation on Sept 4. Both sides had talks regarding supporting start-up companies and innovative projects.

According to Chen Hecai, director of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanxi Provincial Committee, the Berlin center not only helps the government to build a good business environment, but also assists local firms' development. This way of combining government policy into business and innovation is a good example to be modeled by Shanxi province.

Treichel, director for the center's international projects, expressed hopes to strengthen ties with Shanxi by providing training and advisory services for Shanxi start-up companies.