A Kuka exhibit booth at the CIIE (Photo: Yang Hui/GT)
Rising protectionism won't halt global trend
As foreign technology giants expressed their confidence in the Chinese market and their willingness to pursue further cooperation in smart manufacturing, Chinese officials called for a broad consensus in technology development at the ongoing China International Import Expo (CIIE) on Tuesday.
As a leading software makers, "we are looking forward to continuing cooperation with our Chinese partners and helping them to make use of the latest intelligence skills, Managing Director of SAP China Sam Li said on Tuesday at a forum during the CIIE.
During the six-day expo, more than 400 enterprises including SAP are showcasing products, technologies and ideas at its advanced intelligent equipment exhibition area. Exhibitors include Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders such as GE, DuPont, Schneider, Microsoft, Kuka and ABB.
Artificial intelligence products (AI), robots, 3D printers and aviation equipment are on display to potential buyers and partners.
German industrial robot producer Kuka built a "smart factory" at its booth, where dozens of silver and orange robots approximately one meter tall are busily waving their arms. "The 'smart factory' shows visitors how the robots assemble new robots themselves," a Kuka staffer said.
"We believe that China is one of the most important robotics markets in the world," said Kuka CEO Till Reuter, who also attended the forum, "We're investing further in China."
The European companies' eagerness to explore and cooperate with Chinese partners has illustrated the importance of the Chinese market to foreign firms, where demand is surging amid a technological upgrade, Zuo Shiquan, head of the equipment manufacturing research institute under the China Center for Information Industry Development, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"It also offers a great example to the world that how cooperation in the high-tech industry could yield a win-win situation, while some countries such as the US are still deliberately posing barriers to Chinese firms' investment," Zuo said. "Rising trade protectionism will not reverse the global cooperation trend in the tech sector."
Reuter told the Global Times that Kuka plans to build a robotics park in Shunde, South China's Guangdong Province by the end of this year.
Kuka is collaborating with Chinese enterprises such as Midea in fields including logistics and healthcare, Reuter told the forum. The two companies have plans to build healthcare robots in China.
"Developing the high-tech industry, especially AI, has become a global consensus, which requires further cooperation between countries," Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei said.
Contemporary trade is no longer about solely buying and selling products - it's also about cooperation between enterprises, Wei Hao, director of the Department of International Economy and Trade at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"To tackle increasing fierce competition from home and abroad, domestic companies are enriching themselves by proactively bringing in foreign advanced skills and resources," Wei said.
noting that it makes Sino-foreign cooperation much more common, especially in industries with large market demand.
Earlier this year, Swiss engineering group ABB, which built a robotics center in Southwest China's Chongqing in May, provided another vivid example.
"There's been a remarkable change in the ways we collaborate with Chinese companies over the past years," Gu Chunyuan, president of the ABB Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Chinese companies have been shifting from buying products from foreign firms to focusing more on cooperation on innovation, Gu noted.
