German companies finding warm welcome in Chinese city of Taicang

Recently, Taicang has promoted the concept of urban cooperation, with the aim of gradually expanding business cooperation with Germany into cooperation around culture, education, science and technology, and sports.

The city has held beer festivals, soccer matches, and marathons during the past 17 years. With more than 1,000 German expats now living in Taicang, the city's local residents have grown very fond of German culture too, with many enjoying going to German restaurants, bars, and bakeries. Indeed, Taicang is currently building a new street called Rothenburg German Street, after the famous medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the German region of Bavaria.

Located in the heart of the city, the street not only recreates the feel of the original Rothenburg, but has features including Maritim Hotel Taicang Garden, Germanstyle restaurants, and an exhibition and trading center for Germanmade products.

Last month, FC Bayern Munich set up a soccer school in Taicang, to offer professional coaching to local teenagers. The club also plans to open a flagship store on Rothenburg German Street, to further strengthen cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Since 2008, "Taicang Day" has been held in Germany each year to celebrate the success.

The event has become a tradition, as well as a platform for bilateral economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges. After 2009 and 2015, this year marks the third time the event has been held in Munich.

Fourteen consecutive years of "Taicang Day" events have witnessed the county-level city's commitment to strengthening cooperation among all sectors between itself and German companies.

The city is developing emerging industries and enhancing its overall innovation capability. The opening ceremony for three German-funded centers connected to the Taicang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone was held during this year's "Taicang Day", for the Berlin-Taicang Innovation Center, the German Innovation Center in Dusseldorf, and the Aachen Innovation Center in Taicang.

Together with those centers, Taicang plans to continue to join hands with Germany, to fully integrate and utilize innovation resources, explore high-tech projects, promote the mass production of scientific and technological research achievements, and create a new model of in-depth cooperation in scientific and technological innovation between the two countries.