The First Hunan-Germany Innovation and Development Empowerment Conference was held at the Zurbrüggen Group China headquarters in Changsha on March 9. The conference aimed to promote high-level economic, trade, and cultural exchange and cooperation as well as in-depth integration of industry, education, and research between Hunan and Germany.

Conference participants included German doctors and professors in domestic and foreign universities, and Hunanese experts and scholars, as well as representatives of some Hunan-based foreign-funded enterprises and foreign businessman associations. They probed into the challenges and opportunities for the innovation and development of Hunan-Germany in-depth integration of industry, education, and research. The participants exchanged views from various perspectives on the potential of Hunan-Germany cooperation in such fields as sci-tech innovation, industrial upgrading, and talent cultivation, and the issues related to jointly empowering the development of the enterprises, universities, and research and development institutions in Hunan Province. Valuable advice and expectations have been put forward.

A number of cooperative projects were contracted at the conference. The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks, ZDH), the Yongzhou National-level Economic and Technological Development Zone, and the Xiangjiang New Area Entrepreneur Association respectively reached a cooperative agreement with the Sino-Germany (Hunan) Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation Center. An exchange center for the members of the Hunan Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (HAEFI) was established on the site, to facilitate communication and cooperation between and among the members.

According to the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, in 2023, Hunan's total import and export to Germany amounted to 15.5 billion CNY; and, Hunan has set up five new overseas investment enterprises in Germany, involving direct investment of 50.18 million USD. From 2021 to 2023, 14 Germany start-ups were set up in Hunan.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn