German companies finding warm welcome in Chinese city of Taicang

After 50 years of diplomatic ties between Beijing and Berlin, Taicang is now known as the 'Hometown of German enterprises in China'

A forum on innovation and cooperation between Germany and Taicang, a city within Suzhou, in East China's Jiangsu province, was held during the 14th "Taicang Day" at the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs' Regional Development and Energy department, in Munich, Germany on Dec 14.

During a special year that marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany, Taicang — a 620-square-kilometer county-level city within Suzhou city — has sent a delegation to Munich to carry out economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges, and to seek closer ties and win-win cooperation with Germany.

Based on mutual respect, China and Germany have dedicated themselves to constructing in-depth bilateral relations during the past five decades, and written a chapter of joint efforts and win-win achievements in their shared history.

The visit last month to China of Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz further enhanced understanding, trust, and deepened cooperation across all major industries.

The county-level city of Taicang has emerged as a role model for mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between Germany and China.

The city by the Yangtze River, which is a neighbor to Shanghai, is in a good location and has great transport links, being on six railway lines and sitting only 17 minutes from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Taicang is not only convenient for travelers but is also an important cargo logistics hub on the China-Europe Railway Express that is a key connection between China and the rest of the world.

In 1993, the first German company — Kern-Liebers — settled down in the Taicang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. Since then, more and more German enterprises have found homes there.

The German traits of precision and trustworthiness in business, and German companies' quest for perfection match the city's spirit of "delicacy, harmony, pragmatism, and innovation".

The two sides have brought out the best in each other.

After years of developing, Taicang has become one of the regions in China with the most intensive German investment. And the county-level city is considered one of the best areas in China for German companies to find success.

Today, Taicang is home to more than 460 German-funded companies, including 60 large corporations — such as Schaeffler, Trumpf, and Brose — involved in sectors including auto parts, aviation, and high-end equipment manufacturing.

And the presence of German companies has offered business opportunities to Taicang's local companies as well, with more than 600 of the city's enterprises engaging in in-depth cooperation with German companies in areas including capital, talent, research and development, and sales.

In 2001, Taicang took the lead in introducing the German "dual system" education model and the city now has 18 "dual system" training institutions and has constructed a multi-level technical talent training system through secondary school, college, and into undergraduate university.

So far, more than 10,000 management-level and technician-level talents have completed their training there, thanks to the system.

Education Plus 2022, a vocational education exhibition jointly organized by Germany and China was held in Taicang in September and the nations plan to hold a skills competition in the near future, to draw on Germany's advanced experience in vocational education and to further promote the integration of industry and education, as well as the cooperation between schools and companies.

During the past three decades, Taicang has consistently seized business opportunities with the German companies based there and created an optimal business environment for them and its successes have been recognized by the authorities in both countries.

In November 2008, Taicang was named a "Sino-German Enterprise Cooperation Base" by China's Ministry of Commerce and by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and remains the only city to be recognized that way by both sides.

The county-level city is known today as the "Hometown of German enterprises in China" and also has a very good reputation in Germany's business community.

Recently, Taicang has promoted the concept of urban cooperation, with the aim of gradually expanding business cooperation with Germany into cooperation around culture, education, science and technology, and sports.

The city has held beer festivals, soccer matches, and marathons during the past 17 years. With more than 1,000 German expats now living in Taicang, the city's local residents have grown very fond of German culture too, with many enjoying going to German restaurants, bars, and bakeries. Indeed, Taicang is currently building a new street called Rothenburg German Street, after the famous medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the German region of Bavaria.

Located in the heart of the city, the street not only recreates the feel of the original Rothenburg, but has features including Maritim Hotel Taicang Garden, Germanstyle restaurants, and an exhibition and trading center for Germanmade products.

Last month, FC Bayern Munich set up a soccer school in Taicang, to offer professional coaching to local teenagers. The club also plans to open a flagship store on Rothenburg German Street, to further strengthen cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Since 2008, "Taicang Day" has been held in Germany each year to celebrate the success.

The event has become a tradition, as well as a platform for bilateral economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges. After 2009 and 2015, this year marks the third time the event has been held in Munich.

Fourteen consecutive years of "Taicang Day" events have witnessed the county-level city's commitment to strengthening cooperation among all sectors between itself and German companies.

The city is developing emerging industries and enhancing its overall innovation capability. The opening ceremony for three German-funded centers connected to the Taicang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone was held during this year's "Taicang Day", for the Berlin-Taicang Innovation Center, the German Innovation Center in Dusseldorf, and the Aachen Innovation Center in Taicang.

Together with those centers, Taicang plans to continue to join hands with Germany, to fully integrate and utilize innovation resources, explore high-tech projects, promote the mass production of scientific and technological research achievements, and create a new model of in-depth cooperation in scientific and technological innovation between the two countries.