German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrapped up his first official visit to China on Thursday in Hangzhou City, where he met with business leaders and toured local tech companies, spotlighting business ties and tech cooperation with China.
Merz had arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin a two‑day official visit, before continuing Thursday to Hangzhou with a high‑level business delegation. Around 30 executives from German industry giants including Bayer, Siemens, Adidas, Mercedes‑Benz and BMW accompanied him, demonstrating the centrality of trade and industrial ties.
"In these few days, I've seen new partnerships take shape and long-standing cooperation grow stronger. I leave with deep and lasting impressions of this remarkable country," said Merz.
Merz then toured Chinese robotics company Unitree, where he watched humanoid robots perform kung fu moves and took a look at the core components behind the machines. He also visited the facilities of German industrial giant Siemens Energy, including workshops for high-voltage power equipment.
"Both markets are depending very strongly on each other. German companies are very much invested in the Chinese market. German companies are really part of the Chinese industrial ecosystem, which is super important. On the other side, we want Chinese companies to be part of the German industrial ecosystem as well," said Roland Busch, president and CEO of Siemens.
"Robotics is part of the future. We work together with tech companies here in the Chinese ecosystem, so this is an opportunity to innovate together. And robotics is one of the most interesting fields. So, I'm looking forward to that," said Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group.
Hangzhou is no longer known only as China's internet hub. The city has been moving rapidly into advanced manufacturing, robotics and hard tech - a transformation that closely mirrors Germany’s push for Industry 4.0 and its drive toward digitalized and green industrial upgrading.
This tech-focused itinerary is widely seen as reflecting Germany's growing recognition of China’s rapid technological progress and strong industrial competitiveness.
"It's a great honor for us. This opens a window for deeper cooperation with German companies and creates a valuable opportunity to jointly promote the global development of intelligent robots," said Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics.
"We lead in digital innovation, new human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence, while Germany excels in industrial and green manufacturing. That makes the partnership complementary," said Zhu Mingming, founder and CEO of Rokid, a company dedicated to augmented reality and human-computer interaction.
That alignment is one of the key messages behind this visit.
Since the start of this year, both China and Germany have seen a number of major business moves -- from two-way investment to German companies setting up regional headquarters in China and expanding cooperation in research and development.
"I'm impressed. We just saw such a lot of innovation. And the good thing is what we also see. We see good cooperation on all levels of government. And that for us companies, that's very important as both governments want to work together that we have the situation and all the bases that we can do business here," said Andreas Pecher, president and CEO of ZEISS Group.
As China–Germany ties gain increasing global relevance, Merz's China trip is widely viewed as a key step toward enhancing strategic communication, deepening mutual trust, and advancing the all-round strategic partnership between the two countries.
German chancellor concludes China trip with tech firm visits in Hangzhou
