On November 6, during the China (Guangdong)-Germany (Bavaria) Enterprise Negotiation Conference was held in Guangzhou, the Guangzhou Development Zone Management Committee and Shanghai Dezhi Industrial and Commercial Center Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation. The two parties jointly built the Guangzhou German Enterprise Center and worked together to build it into the headquarters of the "German Center" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, providing a platform for introducing advanced technologies and excellent enterprises in Germany and even Europe.

It is understood that the "German Center" is a bridge for German small and medium-sized enterprises to enter investment cooperation in other countries. It is operated by the German Bavarian State Bank and the Baden-Württemberg State Bank. It has more than 20 years of operational experience and is a mature and stable platform. It provides multi-level exchange and cooperation opportunities for new German and European enterprises. It often organizes and is invited to various business exchanges and government cooperation activities. It has high media exposure and is an important medium for Sino-German economic exchanges and has a wide international influence.

The German Center of Shanghai settled in Tongji University in Shanghai in 1994 and has become a subsidiary of the Bavarian State Bank of Germany since 1996, namely Shanghai Deutsche Industrial and Commercial Center Co., Ltd. In addition to Shanghai, the "German Center" has locations in Beijing, Taicang and Qingdao, which plays an important role in local economic exchanges and investment promotion.

According to the agreement, the Guangzhou Development Zone Management Committee will establish a strategic cooperation coordination group with Shanghai Deyi Industrial and Commercial Center Co., Ltd. to provide consulting services for the planning, design, construction, and operation management of the Guangzhou German Enterprise Center.

According to reports, the Science City, which is located in the Guangzhou Development Zone, is jointly built by the State-owned Enterprise Science City (Guangzhou) Investment Group Co., Ltd. under the Guangzhou Development Zone Management Committee, and the German side. The design, construction and operation standards are all based on the latest German standards, and have multiple functions such as German enterprise investment centers, reception centers, business centers, and incubators.

According to the consensus reached by both sides, after the completion of the Guangzhou German Enterprise Center, it will provide a platform for introducing advanced technologies and excellent enterprises from Germany and even Europe after the completion of the Guangzhou German Enterprise Center, in combination with the advantages of both parties.

Germany's "hidden champion" company is the center's key investment direction. The so-called "hidden champion" refers to small and medium-sized enterprises that employ no more than 500 people but occupy a majority share in the domestic or international market, but have a low social reputation. Germany has more than 1,400 "hidden champions", accounting for about half of the world's "hidden champions". In addition, the center also conducts targeted investment promotion for outstanding foreign companies and well-known companies that have set up factories in China but have not invested in Guangzhou Development Zone.

It is understood that Guangzhou Development Zone is one of the first 14 national economic and technological development zones in China. It has introduced more than 3,500 foreign-invested enterprises and more than 170 Fortune 500 companies and projects. It is one of the areas with the most intensive investments of multinational companies in China. Among them, European countries mainly in Germany have invested in more than 160 companies in the region, including nearly 30 Fortune 500 companies. In addition, more than 20 companies in the region "going out" to invest in the EU, with a total investment of over US$200 million.

As the first pilot area for China-Europe regional policy cooperation in China, Guangzhou Development Zone continues to accelerate the pace of open economy development and actively explores new models of foreign cooperation.

Guangzhou Development Zone has close exchanges and cooperation with Germany. After Guangdong Province and Bavaria, Germany established friendly provincial and state relations in 2004, the Guangzhou Development Zone and Germany exchanged more and more frequently in economic, trade, culture, education and other aspects.

In 2017, Guangzhou Development Zone established the "China-Europe Belt and Road Industrial Fund" with a total fund size of over 10 billion yuan, promoting the "bringing in" Europe's high-quality projects and the "going out" of outstanding enterprises in the region to achieve two-way flow. In November 2018, the Guangzhou Development Zone Management Committee signed an agreement with the Sino-German Science and Education Park in Heidelberg, Germany to jointly build the Heidelberg Offshore Innovation Center.

It can be foreseen that with the settlement of the German Enterprise Center in Guangzhou and the acceleration of project planning and construction, the economic cooperation between Guangzhou Development Zone and Germany and even Europe will be closer.

Guangzhou Daily All-Media Text Reporter He Ruiqi Correspondent Fan Minling Huang Jiaqing Guangzhou Daily All-Media Photo Reporter Wang Weixuan Guangzhou Daily All-Media Editor Tang Huan