On May 26, the Beijing China-Germany Forum for Industrial Cooperation and Development—China-Germany (China-Europe) Hidden Champions Forum 2025 opened at the Beijing China-Germany International Conference and Exhibition Center in Shunyi District. Themed "Joint Innovation · Integrated Development", the Forum is jointly hosted by the Shunyi District People's Government of Beijing Municipality and the Senate of Economy Europe, with co-initiators including the International Cooperation Center of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Akademie Deutscher Weltmarktführer (ADWM), and German-European Center (DEZ).
The Forum brought together more than 600 attendees, including government representatives, experts, industry leaders and media professionals from China and abroad. Notably, approximately 200 German and European delegates from governments, hidden champions, and industry institutions traveled to Beijing to attend the Forum, doubling international participation from its 2024 debut. The German and European sides expressed strong interest in cooperation. They were joined by more than 400 representatives of specialized and sophisticated enterprises, innovative SMEs, chambers of commerce, research institutes, and industrial investment funds from China. Enterprises, industrial parks, and governments engaged in in-depth dialogue on technological innovation, industrial development, talent mobility, and information exchange, jointly writing a new chapter of China-Germany (China-Europe) mutually beneficial cooperation.
At the opening ceremony, addresses were delivered by Mu Peng, Vice Mayor of Beijing; Walter Döring, Executive Chairman of the Senate of Economy Europe and Chairman of ADWM; Wan Qian, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, National Development and Reform Commission; Hans-Peter Friedrich, former Vice President of the German Bundestag; and Gong Zongyuan, Secretary of CPC Shunyi District Committee of Beijing Municipality. Tang Heng, Ambassador at the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Andrian Digolean, Vice Minister of Ministry of Agricultural and Food Industry of Republic of Moldova, were among the political and business leaders from China and Germany (Europe) in attendance. Diplomats from Moldova, Cyprus, and Romania also attended the event.
During the keynote session, Michael Müller, former Mayor of Berlin and President of the Bundesrat; Jiang Xiaojuan, professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, former Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council; Zhecho Stankov, Minister of Energy of Bulgaria; Benita Ferrero-Waldner, former EU Commissioner for Trade and former EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy; Nicole Graf, President of the DHBW Heilbronn; and Wu Hongliang, Director-General of the NDRC International Cooperation Center, addressed key topics on innovation, digital transformation, and green development.
A highlight of the forum was the joint release of the 2025 China-Germany Hidden Champions Open Cooperation Report by the NDRC International Cooperation Center and the DEZ. Based on surveys of over 300 German-invested enterprises operating in China and regional cooperation models such as the Beijing China-Germany Economic and Technological Cooperation Demonstration Zone, the report analyzes internationalization strategies of German hidden champions and identifies core areas such as joint R&D, regional innovation clusters, supply chain resilience, and localized service networks. It proposes a bilateral cooperation mechanism between Chinese and German (European) governments to deepen the interconnectivity of industrial chains.
To foster cross-border finance and capital collaboration, Bank of Beijing Chairman Huo Xuewen, District Mayor of Shunyi Cui Xiaohao, and other representatives inaugurated the "Golden Link" of China-Germany (China-Europe) Economic and Technological Cooperation Initiative, introducing a series of actions including the development of an industrial-financial information base.
In another key event, officials unveiled the Beijing Shunyi · China-Germany (China-Europe) Hidden Champions Reception Hall (HCRH), envisioned as a permanent window for displaying and converting enterprise innovations. Leveraging the global network of the Summit of World Hidden Champions, this platform aims to sustain long-term international engagement and resource integration.
This year's forum adopted a "1+5+N" framework. In addition to the main forum, five thematic events were held to address industrial chain innovation integration, open policies, dialogues between global hidden champions and specialized and sophisticated enterprises, intelligent connected new energy vehicles, medicine and health. These events facilitated in-depth cross-sector exchanges, highlighting internationalized business environment in Shunyi and Beijing.
Activities like "business one-on-one" meetings, "learning excellence, learning from the best" themed exchange, and Shunyi District Tour showcased the region's latest achievements in openness and cooperation. Currently, Beijing continues to deepen high-level opening-up under the "Two Zones" initiative, implementing over 120 breakthrough policies and enacting the Beijing Foreign Investment Regulations and "Global Service Partners Program" to enhance its appeal to global capital and talents.
Looking forward, Shunyi aims to leverage the Forum and Demonstration Zone to further explore China-Germany (China-Europe) cooperation, enhance its appeal to hidden champions and specialized and sophisticated enterprises, and expand mutually beneficial opportunities in technology, industry, talent, and information exchanges.
China-Germany (China-Europe) Hidden Champions Forum Organizing CommitteeOrganizer:-Shunyi District People's Government of Beijing Municipality- European Economic SenateCo-sponsor:-International Cooperation Center of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)-Akademie Deutscher Weltmarktführer (ADWM)- DEZ – German-European Cooperation Center for SME Enterprises
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