Global Times, China: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Chinese technology hub Shenzhen on Friday will bring more cooperation opportunities for Chinese medium and small businesses on innovation, experts noted.
Merkel went to Shenzhen – home to many Chinese technology enterprises – for the first time as German chancellor during her two-day visit to China. She attended the opening of an innovation center set up by the German Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen.
Her visit to Shenzhen coincides with the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy, which shows her confidence toward China’s deepening reform and opening up, Cui Hongjian, director of the China Institute of International Studies’ Department of European Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.
Merkel is willing to seek more cooperation opportunities for medium and small businesses in Shenzhen, which can better compete and integrate with German companies, Cui said.
The investment environment in Shenzhen still attracts German enterprises but the cooperation mode will thrive toward closer integration on research and development, Cui said, adding that Shenzhen should no longer be a manufacturing base for German products.
Merkel had visited 10 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chengdu and Hangzhou, in her past 10 trips to the country since 2006, media reported.
Future cooperation will focus on innovation, since Shenzhen is the frontier of China’s opening-up policy, Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the Global Times.
Shenzhen is home to Tecent, Huawei, BYD Auto and DJI-Innovations.
Nearly 20 German entrepreneurs accompanied Merkel. The combined annual sales of their companies are 550 billion euros ($644 billion), China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
