Global firms eye opportunities as China's manufacturing sector embraces innovation

HEFEI - Intelligent and high-end manufacturing is taking the spotlight in China, with innovations ranging from new energy vehicles and smart robots to advanced photovoltaics and energy storage equipment.

The 2025 World Manufacturing Convention, which is being held from Saturday to Tuesday in Hefei of East China's Anhui province, is bringing these frontier achievements together for global participants.

"Anhui is focusing on a broad swathe of cutting-edge and emerging industries, including smart manufacturing, biomedicine, electric vehicles and renewable energy, which are areas of collaboration that the American business community can be a part of," said Noah Fraser, senior vice-president of China operations at the US-China Business Council (USCBC), at a sideline event of the convention.

USCBC member companies, Fraser added, are energized by the dynamism of local firms, which are not only strong competitors driving innovation and inspiring greater R&D, but also valuable partners in their global strategies.

Representatives of 79 companies and institutions from 20 countries and regions also voiced robust expectations for cooperation with Anhui.

Carlo D'Andrea, national vice-president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China and chairman of the board of its Shanghai Chapter, said that he looks forward to working with Anhui on joint R&D, technology transfer and academic exchange.

Multinational companies are already expanding their footprint in the province. Stefano Petrilli, global head of operations at Marelli Propulsion, visited Anhui recently. The century-old automotive parts manufacturer is installing new production lines and launching new products in China to boost capacity.

"China's transformation from the 'world's factory' to an 'innovation hub' has created unprecedented opportunities for foreign companies like Marelli," Petrilli said.

He noted that China has the world's most dynamic and fast-changing mobility ecosystem, with shorter product cycles, higher customer expectations and constant innovation than other countries. Marelli now runs eight R&D centers and 17 factories in China, employing about 5,000 people.

In January, a Chuzhou-based subsidiary of BSH Home Appliances Group in Anhui was included on China's first list of excellence-level smart factories for its "lean collaborative smart factory for the entire value stream of high-end home appliances."

Established in 1995, the subsidiary has been steadily expanding, and its Chuzhou site has become one of the group's largest production bases worldwide.

Matthias Metz, CEO of BSH Home Appliances Group, said that BSH China's R&D center has enhanced its capabilities further, helping China to become the group's global innovation engine and talent hub, and that the group's goal is to build BSH China into its global innovation engine.

Anhui's trajectory reflects a broader shift in China's manufacturing sector, which is moving beyond its established role as the "world's factory" to become a global innovation hub for advanced technologies.

Across the country, foreign companies are stepping up their investment. In Shanghai, Tesla has begun production at its first energy storage Gigafactory outside the United States, with the commercial batteries it produces set to be supplied globally.

In Jiangsu, BMW announced it will establish its first information technology R&D center in China in east China's Nanjing, which will develop intelligent driving assistance systems, smart cockpits and intelligent interaction technologies.

From January to July 2025, 36,133 foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, up 14.1 percent year-on-year. Actual foreign investment in high-tech industries totaled 137.36 billion yuan ($19.32 billion), according to official data.

China's ongoing opening-up measures are also providing stronger guarantees for international cooperation on innovation.

"You can see the ability of both local and provincial governments to attract new investment and promote innovation. Of course, innovation is one of the main reasons why European companies are working in China," D'Andrea said.