Industrial park a proud monument to China-Germany collaboration

Beijing China-Germany Industrial Park in the capital's Shunyi district is ratcheting up efforts to expand its presence in the "Two Zones" policies via advanced manufacturing and high-level opening-up.

On Oct 16, around 30 representatives from 15 domestic and foreign media organizations visited the park as part of a city tour organized by the media office of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the Beijing government's Information Office.

The park is the first national-level industrial park serving as a demonstration area for economic and technological cooperation between China and Germany. With a planned area of 20 square kilometers, it features several leading industries — intelligent automobiles powered by new energy, smart equipment, the digital economy — and services supporting advanced manufacturing.

Hao Lijie, deputy head of the industrial park's management committee, said that as of the end of September, the facility has seen more than 100 German companies set up branches or headquarters, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ameco, Bosch and Wilo Group, while hitting 35 billion yuan ($4.79 billion) in annual output.

One of the media group's stops was the Bosch Industry 4.0 Innovation Center. Aiming to offer one-stop services to manufacturing enterprises in Beijing, which include factory planning, diagnostic consultations, project implementation, transformation guidance and talent development, it represents one of the flagship projects of China-Germany cooperation.

With a total investment of 50 million yuan, the center plans to assist more than 30 manufacturing enterprises annually in their planning and upgrading efforts. Onsite staff members input a few order instructions at the control panel, and the future factory is immediately activated. Powered by wireless charging floors, 5G, the industrial internet, and artificial intelligence, an automated guided vehicle, or AGV, picks up goods from the material rack while production modules move autonomously to form a flexible production line. In no time, qualified finished products are ready to be shipped.

The media group also visited Beijing Agile Robots Technology, where dozens of robots with swinging arms caught their attention. "The robots appear to be very flexible," said a journalist who lightly touched one with his hand, causing it to instantly cease movement. The sensitivity of the robots was also demonstrated when a nail was attached to the end of one's arm, which then captured a balloon. Even with the protruding nail, the robot was able to grasp the balloon without piercing it.

"Such precision is unimaginable. These robots seemingly can handle any fine craftsmanship!" a journalist said.

Chen Wei, deputy general manager of the company, said the significance of robot development is to serve humans. In the medical field, Agile's robots can assist orthopedic doctors in precise surgeries, and they have also been applied in multiple industries such as 3C (computers, communications, and consumer electronics) products, automobiles and jewelry processing.

The media tour also included a visit to the China-Germany Plaza, which is known as the "First Gateway" in the Beijing China-Germany Industrial Park.

Offering comprehensive solutions including auditing, legal, and intellectual property services to companies within the park, the plaza started operating in January 2022 and has already secured agreements with more than 40 German enterprises and research and development service organizations, including the Bosch Industrial 4.0 Innovation Center and Volkswagen Smart Logistics Headquarters in China.

There are also seven up-and-coming German companies such as Rhein-Koester and 17 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises established through collaboration and investment by Chinese and German teams.