The 2019 Sino-German Intelligent Manufacturing Cooperation Summit was held in Changsha on May 24. The summit focused on the latest cutting-edge trends, key technologies, and achievements of Sino-German intelligent manufacturing industry. New ideas and ways to accelerate the development of intelligent manufacturing have been discussed.

In recent years, Changsha and Germany have become increasingly close in exchanges and cooperation. A number of well-known German companies such as Continental AG, Bosch and Schaeffler Group have successively invested in Changsha. Hunan’s Zoomlion and Sany have also invested in Germany. Hunan Central South Intelligent Equipment Company joined hands with Germany’s Siemens in establishing an “Industry 4.0 Innovation Center”. Beyond that, a number of major cooperation projects are progressing smoothly.

Xiangjiang New Area focuses on the building of “Xiangjiang Smart Valley”. In recent years, it has vigorously promoted the development strategy of intelligent manufacturing and has made remarkable achievements in playing an exemplary role in smart factories, workshops, and production lines. By 2018, 255 smart manufacturing pilot enterprises (projects) at national, provincial and city levels have been approved, generating a relevant output value of 75 billion CNY. In particular, the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (Changsha) Testing Zone is thriving, with 12 new artificial intelligence R&D institutions introduced, more than 10 leading enterprises signed to settle down, and 347 affiliated enterprises gathered.

During the dialogue, guests aired their views freely. Wang Peng, deputy dean of China Center for Information Industry Development, said that Changsha has formed many powerful industrial clusters which will play a vital role in the rise of central China. Stefan Gätzner, chief representative of Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI) Beijing Office said that Hunan may ensure effective policy implementation as German enterprises and investors are focusing on policy enforcement at legal and government levels. (en.changsha.gov.cn)