China has become a global innovation hub across various industries, bringing new opportunities to global enterprises, said Roland Busch, President and CEO of Siemens AG.
In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV), broadcast on Friday, Busch emphasized China's innovation capacity across the supply chain. DeepSeek has attracted global attention for its top performance and high efficiency, but the China-developed AI is only "a tip of the iceberg" of China's innovation, noted the entrepreneur, citing from his own speech at the 2025 China Development Forum that "China surprises us with innovations."
"So when I said that obviously everybody was talking about or thinking about DeepSeek. My message was a little bit more subtle. I said that China surprises us with innovation, and DeepSeek is maybe the tip of the iceberg, but there are so many other innovations which are happening. Think about battery manufacturing, I mean the best batteries come in from China, so this is a huge innovation which was driven out of China. Think about the car industry, the cars which the local car makers (made). They made a step up and they produce brilliant cars for a very very competitive price with functions and features which you don't maybe find in other places," said Busch.
DeepSeek, along with China's other industries that have garnered a world reputation, is only a part of a larger "surprise" of the country's innovative development in science, technology, and manufacturing.
"So therefore, it goes deeper. We also see innovation in the supply chain, machine builders, and the alike. So therefore, DeepSeek of course was a kind of a total surprise that a company can develop this low-budget models, which are matching to the performance of the top models in the world. So that was a surprise which came to many many people. But again, for me, it's more than that," he said.
With its vast market and vitality, according to Busch, China has become an innovation and industry hub, and a critical market for global enterprises.
"So we say China is, meanwhile, one of the most innovative markets, so it's the fitness center so to speak for our developers and for innovation. It's the size of the market itself. Remember, if it comes to the industrial GDP, China claims 30 percent of the global industrial GDP, so it's a market you cannot get around if you're in the automation space. Number two is, again, the demand from our customers is really on high level, so it's not just cheap products, it's really innovative products for at the same time of competitive price. So therefore, you really, if you want to make it globally, I do believe you have to make your point in China as well," said Busch.
China is one of most innovative markets for global enterprises: Siemens CEO
China is one of most innovative markets for global enterprises: Siemens CEO
