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China is now the second-largest market for German exports outside the EU, and both sides are expected to see stronger trade ties in the near future.
Overall car sales in China halved to 7 percent in 2014, but German auto-maker Daimler is bucking the trend with a 29-percent surge in orders for Mercedes last year.
"We've invested heavily in new products fit for China, specially designed for Chinese's needs and the response has been phenomenal," said Hubertus Troska, chairman & CEO of Great China Ltd.
To create vehicles that more closely match customer preferences, Daimler has tripled its research and development workforce in recent years, making the luxury brand accessible for middle-class customers.
"It's part of understanding better , the customer base and transferring that knowledge into technology and products better suited for the Chinese market," Troska said.
An economic analyst from the German Chamber of Commerce in China noticed the moves and echoed Troska's sentiments.
"Based on our survey, we see increase activity in research and development. China, for German companies, is not a low-cost manufacturing country. It is more important to find skilled laborers to progress in manufacturing while focusing on research and development and on the local market in China," said economic analyst in China Max J. Zenglein.
Bilateral trade between China and Germany increased by more than 11 percent last year despite China's economic slowdown.
The German government has pledged to promote the computerization of manufacturing and to help revolutionize the way goods are produced, calling the advancement "Industry 4.0."
"It's quiet close to the Chinese concept of "made in China 2025." It's not 100 percent identical, but it's overlapping and this is why the Chinese leadership and the German government decided to cooperate in industrial innovation," said German ambassador to China Michael Clauss.
"China is a manufacturing hub. It will continue to be so in the future. They need to increase the automation, and I think Germany has the technology to be very helpful in order to strength the manufacturing position that China has at the moment," Zenglein said.
Troska sees German and Chinese automakers continuing to work together to develop state-of-the art cars that will help China become one of the world's premier auto markets.
"We do see more tendencies and development for future innovative technologies such as autonomous driving. Some features will adapt all of those for the Chinese market, so I can see the Chinese market moving very positively, very rapidly, with lots of trends, also with connectivity, digital plus is happening in China. We want to be very close to the Chinese consumers and Chinese internet providers to offer those products for the future," Troska said.
中国公共新闻网摘编：GAN JADE |
