China, Germany set 11 innovation platforms to strengthen cooperation

BEIJING: China and Germany have set up 11 innovation cooperation platforms, Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang announced Wednesday.

The platforms cover fields such as electric vehicles, bioscience, clean water, intelligent manufacturing and clean energy, Wan said at the 5th Sino-German Innovation Conference.

Wan noted that over the past four decades, China and Germany had initiated effective cooperation models and promoted the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

"Sino-German scientific cooperation has set a successful example of technological cooperation between major countries," Wan said.

Georg Schuette, state secretary of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research of Germany, said that the German government attached great importance to science and technology innovation cooperation with China, and would strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as climate change, environmental protection, the Internet of Things and lightweight manufacturing.

China and Germany have respectively adopted "Made in China 2025" and "Industry 4.0" strategies in response to the new round of technological and industrial revolution.

Many German companies such as BMW and BASF have established large research and development centers in China.

Chinese enterprise investment in Germany has increased significantly in recent years, with many Chinese companies setting up research and development centers in Germany. The increasing number of China-Germany industrial parks also foster strong industrial cooperation between the two countries.