Sino-German businesses gather at X-Days to brainstorm innovative cooperation

The Xceleration Days (X-Days) 2024, a three-day gathering for Chinese and German enterprises, opened Wednesday in Beijing. 

The X-Days is a flagship business event sponsored by AHK Greater China, which is part of the German Chambers Worldwide Network. 

The annual gathering this year sees the attendance of nearly 1,000 executives of leading companies from China and Germany and representatives of international organizations. 

It features an opening ceremony, themed sub-forums, exhibitions, and various other sub-events for the Chinese and German entrepreneurs to discuss topics concerning cutting-edge technologies, promote strategic dialogs, and deepen mutually beneficial collaboration. 

An AHK Innovation Awards ceremony was held to recognize and honor innovative companies in China and Germany on the first day of the event. 

During the gathering, the Chinese and German attendees will engage in matchmaking and networking activities, focusing on areas such as green manufacturing, artificial intelligence and raw material resources. 

"We have two main themes. One is innovation, and how innovation drives also the economy forward, [and] the company. And the second main theme is networking and partnerships. And then we try here a very unique concept to bring the large companies together with startups and smaller companies to really open the mind beyond just market studies, but really for collaboration and identifying just new opportunities otherwise which would go unnoticed," Dr. Clas Neumann, chairman of the board of the German Chamber of Commerce in China - East China said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of Wednesday's activities. 

"What we want to show is that we want to support, to accelerate the cooperation we have between Chinese companies and German companies. There is great cooperation already, and this cooperation grew over 100 years. So, this event is really to talk not about all the challenges we have, but rather what we have in common, and about projects we can develop together," Maximilian Butek, executive director and board member of the German Chamber of Commerce in China - East China. 

The X-Days were already successfully held in the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Shanghai previously, featuring a wide range of activities, such as opening ceremonies, parallel forums, matchmaking sessions, exhibitions, field trips, business dinners, and social events. 

At present, there are about 5,000 German companies operating in China, and more than 2,000 Chinese companies have invested in Germany. 

Sino-German businesses gather at X-Days to brainstorm innovative cooperation

The China International Emergency Management Exhibition opened in Beijing on Wednesday, which helps address the growing demand for global cooperation in preventing and mitigating disasters. 

The three-day exhibition highlights latest technologies in disaster prevention, rescue, firefighting, and workplace safety, attracting more than 150 companies from home and abroad. 

The exhibition is also believed to be a major step to promote international cooperation in natural disaster prevention and emergency management under the Belt and Road Initiative.  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ "The exhibition is an important platform to showcase new equipment, new materials and new technology, promote industrial development, and facilitate international exchange," said Xu Jia'ai, Vice Minister of Emergency Management. 

Foreign ambassadors to China said that they value the opportunities to work with the country, so as to get their countries well prepared for the uncertainty of natural disasters. 

"Of course, Nicaragua has very limited resources to address these multiple challenges, but by working, by cooperating with China, we can learn from Chinese experience. We can acquire a Chinese technology that can, in turn, help us to protect our people's lives better," said Michael Campbell, Nicaragua's Ambassador to China. 

"Honestly, when I walked in, I saw a range of different types of technology. One of the things that I notice is the size of the drones. I spoke to one of our colleagues on the floor when she was telling me about the drones which have all these camera capabilities that can go on scooping missions. So when the drones go out, they can assess the danger, assess the types of responses that I need to deal with a situation like that, because most times, unfortunately, human life is at risk. We send out drones to assess emergencies on the ground," said Analisa Low, Trinidad and Tobago's Ambassador to China. 

"This is the good achievement not only for China but also for the Global South countries and peoples and human beings as a matter of fact, because it helps the other countries to achieve more equipment and knowledge to protect their people," said Abolfazl Olamaei Far, Head of Mission of the Embassy of Iran. 

More than ten releases and activities debuting equipment will be held at the event. Officials said they hope the exhibition will become a platform to promote exchanges for the technological development of disaster relief, as the world continues to experience the impact of global warming. 

China hosts exhibition on disaster prevention, emergency management