Source: Jilin Daily

From May 27 to June 5, a delegation from Jilin province visited Germany, Norway and France to thoroughly implement the important consensus between General Secretary Xi Jinping and the leaders of Germany, Norway and France. The delegation visited well-known enterprises in the three countries, discussed cooperation, signed contracts, enhanced friendship, and carried out economic, trade and cultural exchanges.
During the visit, the Jilin delegation attended the Jilin-Germany Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Meeting, the Norwegian Association of Chinese Enterprises Meeting, and the Jilin Province Cultural and Tourism Promotion Meeting & Changbai Mountain Photography Exhibition. The delegation introduced the excellent achievements in the economic and social development of Jilin, as well as the huge development potential and broad cooperation opportunities contained therein, and expressed the sincere desire to deepen exchanges and cooperation and to achieve win-win development. Nearly 100 politicians and entrepreneurs from Germany, Norway, France, Italy and other countries participated in relevant activities. There were 21 contracts worth 4.461 billion yuan signed. The delegation met with 48 representatives from BASF, Siemens and other European business associations and large corporations, visited 23 Fortune 500 companies and well-known multinational corporations such as Volkswagen and Continental, discussed more than 30 cooperation projects, and reached consensus on strengthening future cooperation with relevant parties.
Zheng Gang, member of the delegation and director of the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, said that the visit to three European countries is a major measure taken by Jilin province to deeply implement the important consensus between General Secretary Xi Jinping and the leaders of Germany, Norway and France, and to promote new breakthroughs in its full revitalization in the new era. "The visit is the highest level, most influential and fruitful large-scale economic and trade cooperation and exchange activity launched by Jilin province in Europe in recent years, which is of great significance for serving the overall diplomacy of the country, promoting higher-level opening-up, strengthening foreign exchanges and expanding cooperation areas."
Jilin province makes efforts to attract more overseas investment.
Deepening economic and trade cooperation and attracting foreign investment are one of the main tasks of the delegation's visit to Europe, while the meeting with Volkswagen is the top priority.
In recent years, leading officials from Jilin province have maintained close contact with Volkswagen executives, who have visited Jilin multiple times and paid special attention to the progress of the Audi FAW NEV Company project. In 2018, the Jilin delegation met with Volkswagen executives in Wolfsburg during the visit to Germany. After 6 years, Volkswagen attached great importance to the delegation's second visit. Hans Dieter Pötsch, chairman of Volkswagen's Supervisory Board and chairman of Porsche, Oliver Blume, chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen and Porsche, Ralf Brandstätter, managing director of Volkswagen and chairman and CEO of Volkswagen China, Thomas Schäfer, managing director of Volkswagen and CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, as well as Gernot Döllner, managing director of Volkswagen and CEO of Audi, participated in the meeting. It can be seen from this that the cooperation between Jilin province and Volkswagen has developed comprehensively, and Volkswagen has been determined to deepen its market layout in China and to consolidate production bases in Jilin.
At present, the automobile industry is undergoing a major transformation, with new trends of electrification, intelligence, networking and multifunctional integration gradually evolving. With fierce market competition, Volkswagen brands are facing more challenges in the Chinese market. Jilin province signed a memorandum of cooperation with Volkswagen during the visit, with the purpose of promoting the construction of key projects, establishing a supporting ecosystem for auto parts, enhancing local research and innovation capabilities, introducing more new energy and high-end vehicle models, and expanding talent exchanges. The Audi FAW NEV Company project is a significant landmark project that supports the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany and helps the economic development of the two countries, as well as an important measure taken by Volkswagen and Audi to boost their business development in China. Currently, the progress of the project far exceeds expectations.
There are many well-known enterprises with strong strength and advanced technology in Germany, Norway and France. During the visit, the delegation facilitated the signing of 8 key projects with a total investment of 1.951 billion yuan, involving multiple fields such as auto parts, equipment manufacturing, medicine and health, electronic information, technology research and development. The delegation also promoted the signing of 4 trade orders with a total value of 2.11 billion yuan, providing strong support for Jilin's automobile and medicine industries to enter the European market, and improving supporting facilities for its winter tourism industry. In addition, cooperation agreements were signed between Jilin Universal Machinery Group and CATARC Europe Testing and Certification GmbH, Changchun city and Bayer Group, China Tianying Group and France Bureau Veritas, Changchun Xuyang Group and France Faurecia, as well as Jilin City Qiaoshan Beidahu Industrial Company and Alps Group.
Continental has established long-term and in-depth cooperation with Jilin province. The cooperation agreement signed between the Changchun Jingyue High-tech Industrial Development Zone and Continental Automotive System Changchun Co further strengthened the cooperation between the two sides. Matthias Matic, head of the Safety and Vehicle Dynamics Business Unit at Continental, is very concerned about the revitalization and development of Jilin. He said that the regional development blueprint is related to the building of the research and development environment. "Changchun has good conditions in all aspects and occupies a key position in our development vision. We hope that the Changchun Jingyue Production Base will continue to produce more excellent products with strong competitiveness."
With the continuous deepening of industrial and supply chain integration between Jilin province and the three European countries, and the increasing market dependence on economic development, enterprises from the three countries are looking forward to the prospects of investment and cooperation in Jilin. Eian Sandvik, vice president of Kongsberg Digital in Norway, said that Kongsberg has been engaged in oil, natural gas, renewable energy and power supply sectors, and has had good exchanges on the construction of the digital technology platform with many Jilin enterprises. He expressed his hope that Kongsberg and Jilin can make joint efforts in scientific research on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win results.
Li Hongliang, member of the delegation and director of the Provincial Department of Commerce, said that the delegation made full preparations in terms of deepening economic and trade cooperation and attracting investment, focused on the cultivation of new productive forces in the development of four major clusters, six new industries and four new facilities, and promoted cooperation on major projects. In particular, the delegation expanded Jilin's influence among enterprises in the three countries, and enhanced their willingness to invest in and carry out cooperation with Jilin, laying a solid foundation for further deepening cooperation. He added that next, the Provincial Department of Commerce will spare no effort to promote the implementation of various arrangements during the visit.
Jilin province makes efforts to help the world understand and fall in love with it.
The Hongqi brand is a pride of Jilin province. At present, Norway has become an important channel for Hongqi cars to enter the European market. Wang Kaifeng, president of the Norwegian Association of Chinese Enterprises, said that Norway, a leader in the development of new energy vehicles in Europe, strongly supports the development of the sector. FAW's Hongqi brand is selling well in Norway, and its market share is gradually increasing.
In recent years, Hongqi's overseas business has been thriving. It has established a sales network covering 28 countries and regions worldwide, with a total of 128 stores. Its sales have doubled for three consecutive years. According to FAW's new development plan, Hongqi will launch at least 12 new products in the international market within the next five years.
The cooperation agreement reached between FAW and Motor Gruppen regarding the pre-sale authorization of Hongqi EH7 and EHS7 in Norway is an important step for Hongqi to explore the European and even global markets. Hu Hanjie, chief consultant of overseas affairs of FAW, said that the Hongqi E-HS9 has gained a high reputation among Norwegian consumers since it entered the Norwegian market three years ago. The signing of the agreement once again demonstrated to the world the determination and confidence of Hongqi to develop its overseas business and to provide long-term services to European users.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic ties and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, Jilin province held a cultural and tourism promotion meeting & Changbai Mountain photography exhibition in Paris. The event aimed to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, showcase a vibrant, open, progressive, and diverse and inclusive image of Jilin to the world through photos, help the world better understand China and Jilin, and demonstrate the cultural value of a community with a shared future for humanity in promoting exchanges and enhancing identity.
French photographer Gregore de Gaulle has always been committed to showcasing China's development and changes with photos. Many of his works were exhibited in the event. He said that the artistic creation experience in Jilin is a beautiful memory for him, and Jilin with four distinct seasons is a very worthwhile place to visit. He hoped that more French people can enjoy the beauty of Jilin firsthand, and he also looked forward to returning there soon.
Changbai Mountain and the Alps are located in the same latitude zone. During the delegation's visit to France, the China Changbai Mountain Paris Promotion Center was officially inaugurated. The center will introduce the high-quality natural resources and rich species resources of Changbai Mountain to French people and tourists from all over the world, better enhance the brand influence of Changbai Mountain, and expand the channels for industrial development. While promoting Changbai Mountain, Jilin province will also draw on the rich experience of the ice and snow industry and mountain sports in France, especially in the Alps, to advance the upgrading and cluster development of the ice and snow industry in the Changbai Mountains region, and to turn ice and snow into invaluable assets.