On November 16, the China-Europe Science and Technology Smart Manufacturing Industry Online Seminar was successfully conducted. With the theme “China-Europe Collaborative Innovation, Focusing on Smart Manufacturing,” the seminar gathered nearly 50 experts, scholars, and business representatives from the smart manufacturing and industrial manufacturing sectors in China and Europe.
The seminar featured keynote speeches from Mr. Johannes Weytjens, Executive Director of the German Industry 4.0 Research Institute, and Dr. Sara Medina, Director of the China-Europe Excellence Innovation Center and Head of the EU Research and Innovation Center ENRICH. Representatives from Chinese companies, including Mr. Zeng Rong, General Manager of BRUSA China, and Mr. Li Mingju, Head of Nexgen China, also delivered speeches. The event attracted participation from experts, scholars, and business representatives in the field of smart manufacturing from both China and Europe.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Zhang Yun, Director of the Investment Promotion Department of the Shenzhen Futian District Investment Promotion and Enterprise Service Center, introduced the industrial environment and policies of Futian District in Shenzhen. He emphasized Shenzhen’s vast market and supply chain advantages, highlighting the city’s improved capability for independent technological innovation, actively participating in international technological collaboration networks. He welcomed European foreign businesses to develop in this fortunate land and expressed hope for joint achievements in the field of industrial smart manufacturing between China and Europe.
Executive Director Johannes Weytjens presented a thematic speech on “Exploring Industry Preparedness in Sustainable Manufacturing, Smart Industry/Industry 4.0, and Robotics.” He emphasized that in the era of “Industry 4.0,” achieving high connectivity requires interconnecting factory production machines through the Internet of Things (IoT), linking human resources with machines, and integrating software and data analysis to form more efficient and cost-effective production solutions. Weytjens highlighted the complementary advantages between China and Europe in sustainable manufacturing, smart industry, and industrial robotics. To achieve sustainable development in intelligent industry, collaborative efforts among Chinese and European research institutions, experts, scholars, and businesses are essential to enhance manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness, achieving a breakthrough in global intelligent production.
Zeng Rong, General Manager of BRUSA China, shared insights into the current perspective on China’s new energy electric vehicle industry. He discussed the development opportunities, challenges, future directions, and breakthrough strategies in the field of smart manufacturing related to new energy vehicles and associated intelligent manufacturing industries in China. Zeng expressed that China’s vast market and complete industrial chain, combined with core technological expertise, offer European smart manufacturing companies the potential for higher market value through entry into the Chinese market.
Dr. Sara Medina, Director of the China-Europe Excellence Innovation Center and Head of the EU Research and Innovation Center ENRICH, delivered a keynote speech on “Future Trends in Smart Manufacturing.” Dr. Medina shared European perspectives on the smart manufacturing field, the advantages of the 2022 ISG smart manufacturing, and introduced the European Horizon project. She emphasized the need to bring together industry experts, scholars, and business leaders from China and Europe to jointly contribute to the global collaborative innovation and development of smart manufacturing.
The final speaker, Mr. Li Mingju, Head of Nexgen China, expressed his views on the current state of the new energy vehicle and smart manufacturing industries. He pointed out that China is one of the main markets for new energy vehicles and smart manufacturing industries. With a strong growth trend observed in the smart manufacturing industry in 2022, he highlighted China’s advantageous position for future development in the fields of new energy vehicles and smart manufacturing.
During the Q&A session, over 50 guests and attendees from China, Europe, and other parts of the world engaged in interactive discussions. They explored opportunities and collaboration models in core technological cooperation in the field of smart manufacturing between China and Europe. Consensus was reached on the potential for technical collaboration, utilizing European advanced technology in conjunction with China’s enterprise supply chain and industrial systems for secondary development in the Chinese application market. Intellectual property protection, a key concern for European companies, was also addressed. European enterprises raised questions about the protection of intellectual property in deep technical cooperation between Chinese and European companies. Representatives from Chinese companies provided advice based on existing cases of intellectual property protection in international collaborations, receiving recognition from the attendees.
The seminar concluded successfully with the support of representatives and guests from the China-Europe smart manufacturing industry. The China-Europe Science and Technology Smart Manufacturing Industry Online Seminar has established itself as a high-level platform for dialogue and cooperation between industry, academia, and research, promoting exchanges and interactions in the field of smart manufacturing between China and Europe. It holds significant importance in facilitating practical exchanges among Chinese and European technology companies, research institutions, and technology service providers.
