(Yicai Global) Oct. 29 -- Many companies from Germany’s second-largest city of Hamburg will stage their debut at the third China International Import Expo that is to open next week to seek new opportunities to cooperate with Chinese firms. The CIIE has also become a new platform to bolster bilateral relations between Hamburg and Shanghai, which is hosting the expo.

US-based Steinway & Sons, the world-renowned piano brand that originated in Hamburg, where the company’s European headquarters are located, Jungheinrich, the German forklift truck giant from Hamburg, Hamburg Süd, which is the largest private ocean shipping company and has the longest history of any in Germany, leading global logistics firm Kuehne + Nagel International and the German Chamber of Commerce will also take part in this year’s CIIE, with several of them third-time attendees, Pan Hua, chief representative of the Hamburg Liaison Office China in Shanghai, told Yicai Global.

Hamburg, the most important comprehensive port and center for foreign trade and business in Germany, formed a ‘twin city’ bond with Shanghai in 1986.

“This is also the third time that the Hamburg Liaison Office China, on behalf of the Port of Hamburg, has participated in the fair together with logistics services provider Hamburg Hafen und Logistik,” Pan added.

The CIIE is of great significance and enables the company to contact many different sectors, such as the agriculture and food industry, Lars Anke, chief representative Asia at HHLA told Yicai Global, adding the company may find new growth opportunities through exchanges with leaders in these sectors at the fair.

Usual Magnets

Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong are the customary places for overseas firms to set up their Chinese branches, Anke noted, adding Shanghai is the headquarters of various overseas companies, many of which are HHLA’s partners. Therefore, settling HHLA’s office for the Asia-Pacific region in the eastern Chinese financial hub is quite natural.

China has always been HHLA’s most important client, though East Asia, of which he is in overall charge, also includes Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Hamburg, the German city most closely linked to China’s Belt and Road initiative, is hunting for new opportunities to collaborate with China, in addition to raising its investment in the domestic market.

HHLA wants to expand its partnership with China in hydrogen energy, Anke stated. The country has conducted much research and boasts many pioneering firms in the sector. HHLA plans to find out the latest hydrogen applications in the logistics sector at the exhibition to ignite the sparks of brand-new collaboration.

Hamburg views hydrogen energy as a key strategy, so it will check whether suppliers have the latest technologies at the expo, Pan explained.

Interactive Learning

Smart transport is also a new focus of future partnerships between Chinese and German companies, Pan said, adding she looks forward to seeing Chinese and German firms learn from each other’s advantages to make up their respective shortcomings at the ITS World Congress 2021 Hamburg slated to run next year.

Hamburg has gathered many industrial clusters of small and medium biomedical science and biotechnology firms, and the EU is also planning to help firms in the North German port city enter the Chinese market by funding their projects, Pan noted, adding, “These biotech firms wish to visit Shanghai and conduct research if Covid-19 comes under control next year.”

Economic and trade ties between Germany’s Hamburg and China have been frequent and active in recent years. About 500 Chinese-backed companies are registered with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and plying their businesses locally in the port city, and around 700 firms from Hamburg have trade deals in China, statistics from the liaison office show.

The 3rd China International Import Expo will run in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Ben Armour