CIIE Opens Door to Trade, Says Siemens China CEO
Tang Shihua | Qian Tongxin
DATE:  Nov 09 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
CIIE Opens Door to Trade, Says Siemens China CEO CIIE Opens Door to Trade, Says Siemens China CEO

(Yicai Global) Nov. 8 -- The China International Import Expo opens the door for open trade and is an important platform for Siemens to deepen communication with Chinese partners, Siemens China Chief Executive Lothar Herrmann told Yicai Global in an exclusive interview.

Siemens was one of the first multinational companies to confirm attendance at the event, which runs until Nov. 10 in Shanghai. The German firm has used the expo as a platform to agree cooperation deals with multiple Chinese partners including State Grid, China Huaneng Group, China Southern Power Grid, China Huadian, HBIS Group, Qinchuan Machine Tool, JIER Machine-Tool Group and Suzhou Industrial Park, and plans pen more agreements in the coming days.

The agreements signed will ensure a good start to the first quarter of Siemens' new fiscal year, Herrmann said.

From Hardware Supplier to Solution Provider

More than half of the Chinese partners who signed deals are state-backed and central enterprises as many projects are infrastructure related, he said. "Major Chinese state-owned companies are looking for transformation to upgrade and transform existing infrastructure, and many local governments are also seeking transformation and upgrading in digital manufacturing."

"They need partners like Siemens in this regard, we have 21 research and development centers in the country and many provincial leaders hope to build similar institutions because of digital transformation and how modernization impacts the workforce," Hermann said.

"We used to provide hardware devices to our customers as a supplier while now we interact and work with them to develop future-oriented products, systems and solutions, which are more than just the devices," he added.

Siemens' booth showcases its innovative solutions for the first time in China as well as products covering digital enterprises, sustainable energy, intelligent infrastructure and digital medical.

"We are ready to provide China with solutions to meet the needs of the new era," Herrmann said. "Now is the best time for us to deepen cooperation and explore the path for future development, especially in digitalization and technological innovation."

"We have now provided digitalization solutions for hundreds of Chinese companies, the Siemens Digital Twins solution is not only able to design products and production lines, but also integrates seamlessly with the production process for optimization and more efficient production," he added.

Developing Products With Local Clients

Herrmann also wants to send an explicit message through CIIE that Siemens will continue to invest in the high-quality and sustainable development of the Chinese economy.

"We only had one production base in China in 1991 and now have over 50 covering all of our businesses with advanced equipment, I believe it is enough to show that we never stop investing in China," Herrmann said.

"Our R&D in China is based here but eyes the whole world and is open and innovative," he said. "We entrench ourselves in China, not only by introducing technologies from Germany but also by applying R&D, products and solutions in the Chinese market."

"Eventually, we can promote the development of the manufacturing industry in China and all over the world," he told Yicai Global.

We have much confidence in China's next moves for its opening up and it is a correct direction with the rise of the trade protectionism nowadays, said Herrmann.

"No country can stop importing," Herrmann said. "The digital age can't be undertaken by a single firm or country but is counting on the global value chain. That's why Siemens has been supporting global trade. Siemens fundamentally believes that global development can be only promoted by open trade."

Editor: William Clegg

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Keywords:   Siemens,German