German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid an official visit to China on Oct 29-30, 2015, which is her eighth trip since 2005 in the capacity of chancellor. This visit further strengthened bilateral cooperation in the fields of innovative industries and digitalization of production chains. It created new opportunities for both sides in 2015, the year of "innovation partnership" between China and Germany.
As the most important technology company in Germany, SAP plays a key and active role in Sino-German collaboration. SAP China had two major MOUs signed in the witness of Angela Merkel and Keqiang Li during their visit to Hefei, Premier Li’s home town, on Oct 30.
Clas Neumann, Senior Vice President, Head of Global SAP Labs Network, Head of SAP Fast Growth Market Strategy Group, and Sam Li, Vice President, SAP Greater China Co-General Manager, signed Nanjing government/SAP and XCMG (Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group)/SAP MoUs on behalf of SAP respectively.
Nanjing government and SAP E-commerce collaboration focuses on jointly promoting cross boarder e-commerce businesses leveraging SAP platform. XCMG and SAP Industry 4.0 collaboration is the first Industrie 4.0 showcase in China. The application of Industrie 4.0 at XCMG solution covers R&D, installation and testing, smart logistics, and predictive maintenance.
On top of the signing ceremony of MoUs, Clas also attended Sino–German Economic Collaboration Advisor Committee’s 2nd Plenary Roundtable, together with the Chairmen of the top Chinese Stated Owned Enterprises (SOE) and Private Owned Enterprises (POE). Business leaders from both sides addressed current hurdles and barriers for trade and investment in both countries. There was a specific focus on the digital agenda of China and Germany and how both countries can collaborate better to make the transformation a mutual success. The topics of Internet speed, cyber security and IP protection were discussed deeply in this context and both political leaders (Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Li) were referencing to these issues and how progress can be made to solve those. It was agreed that both sides will double their efforts to create successful pilot projects to achieve the next phase towards IoT/Industrie 4.0 in manufacturing.
As part of Chancellor’s Hefei visit, ICBC bank organized SME Innovation Forum, Clas joined panel discussions and shared his insights regarding how IT can help Chinese companies realize globalization and integrate with the world digital transformation.
Dr. Li Rui Cheng, Managing Director of SAP Labs China, Michael Hao and Sam Li, the co-general managers of SAP Greater China also participated in ICBC SME Innovation Forums.
Sino-Germany Economic Collaboration Advisors Committee is a dialogue platform between China and Germany aiming at deepening economic collaboration. The Committee organized Sino–German Economic Collaboration Advisor Committee’s 2nd Plenary Roundtable during Merkel’s Hefei visit.
Quotes from Executives
I have strong confidence in SAP China’s collaboration and future opportunities with local governments and broader cooperation in IoT topics. It is the biggest achievement SAP China’s Government Relations Team has accomplished.
-- Clas Neumann
This is the first Sino-Germany Industrie 4.0 showcase in China, it has significant positive impact in our upcoming industrie 4.0 related deals, especially with XCMG.
-- Sam Li
XCMG hopes to leverage SAP’s Industrie 4.0 expertise to improve its global competitiveness and to enhance its capabilities and risk mitigation……make XCMG/SAP cooperation on Industrie 4.0 a showcase of Sino-German in-depth collaboration.
-- Wang Min, Chairman XCMG
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