European enterprises demonstrate confidence in Chinese market at int'l industry fair

Visitors watch a robot welding an auto body during the 23rd China International Industry Fair (CIIF) in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

SHANGHAI, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The 23rd China International Industry Fair (CIIF), held from Sept. 19 to 23 in Shanghai, featured a noticeable European presence, with companies showcasing cutting-edge technologies and displaying strong confidence in the Chinese market.

German conglomerate Siemens, which occupied an exhibition space of over 1,000 square meters, displayed its Industrial Operations X, an open and interoperable portfolio for automating and operating industrial production, signaling its official entry into the Chinese market.

Siemens has partnered with China's Machinery Industry Information Research Institute to establish a digital transformation capability assessment platform for SMEs. Through the platform, companies can evaluate their foundational digital transformation capabilities and current status.   

"Technological innovation is emerging as the core driving force behind China's industrial growth in the face of the dual challenges of economic recovery and climate change," said Wang Haibin, executive vice president of Siemens Ltd., China, and general manager of Digital Industries, Siemens Greater China.

Another German enterprise, Bosch Rexroth, brought the ctrlX AUTOMATION platform to the event. This platform offers a comprehensive solution aimed at serving manufacturing facilities of the future.

The company also looks forward to supporting the globalization process of Chinese customers through its global service network, said Xia Weizhong, senior vice president of Factory Automation, Bosch Rexroth China.

The CIIF saw intensified collaborations between European companies and their Chinese counterparts. On the opening day, French company Schneider Electric signed a strategic cooperation agreement with SunShine Pumps (Tianjin), focusing on the production and operation of high-end intelligent devices and aiming to explore collaborative opportunities in digitalization and software development.

Several national pavilions were set up to showcase the latest achievements in industrial tech from different countries. The German Pavilion featured over 20 products and services, and the Italian Pavilion hosted over 60 Italian companies and industry associations, compared to 50 at the previous edition of the CIIF.

"All the participating enterprises and institutions have absolute confidence in this exhibition," said Augusto Di Giacinto, trade commissioner of the Italian Trade Agency in Shanghai.

As a crucial platform linking domestic and international industrial enterprises and converging the entire industrial supply chain, the CIIF is committed to facilitating international exchange and practical cooperation among industrial enterprises and advancing the implementation of industrial achievements, said Wang Hong, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

After three years of disruption due to the pandemic, the CIIF returned offline this year with an exhibition area of 300,000 square meters, featuring over 2,800 participating companies from 30 countries and regions.

Nearly a thousand pioneering new technologies and products made their public debut during the event. The 23rd edition of the CIIF this year set record highs for this event in terms of the number of exhibitors, the size of the exhibition space, and the volume of attendees, according to the organizers.