Dr. Steffen Preissler, head of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer division, and Henrik Beermann, deputy head of the Innovation Acceptance unit, are co-authors of a Sino-German study on value networks as the foundation for digital business models. The confidential document, commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, examines use cases from Germany and China in the field of intelligent manufacturing and digital manufacturing transformation. China and Germany are both important manufacturing powers. They share strong industry complementarity and hold great potential for cooperation. While the German strategy for “Industrie 4.0” acts as a worldwide benchmark for the integration of manufacturing processes, China is pursuing similar objectives with its “Made in China 2025“ and “Internet Plus“ initiatives. The study was presented and discussed at the Third Sino-German Annual Meeting of State Secretaries and Vice Ministers on Intelligent Manufacturing in Berlin in November 2019 and will be officially published in Chinese and German early 2020 at the Hannover Messe.

The Sino-German Company Working Group on Industrie 4.0 and Intelligent Manufacturing links German and Chinese companies, research organizations, experts and politicians. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) initiated this open platform to promote cooperation in the area of intelligent manufacturing. Dr. Steffen Preissler and Henrik Beermann are part of its expert group.