BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese, German and other European business leaders as well as policy-makers gathered in Beijing this week to explore cooperation opportunities across a range of sectors, with a strong focus on green development and intelligent manufacturing.

At the China-Germany (China-Europe) Hidden Champions Forum 2026 held here from Monday to Tuesday, more than 400 representatives from the Chinese and European business sectors and government agencies gathered to explore opportunities for cooperation under the theme of "Joint Innovation, Integrated Development."

Wu Yanyan, BMW Group vice president, highlighted the progress of cooperation in green development between the company and its Chinese suppliers, saying that by the end of 2025, more than 300 of BMW's tier-one suppliers in China had committed to using electricity from renewable sources.

Partnered with a Chinese recycling company, BMW Group has established a closed-loop recycling system for raw materials from retired power batteries, including nickel, cobalt and lithium, continuously strengthening the green competitiveness of its industrial chain and the resilience of its energy security, Wu noted.

Chinese-German cooperation in the green development segment has extended to a wide array of sectors. For instance, in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, construction began in February on the country's first China-Germany dual-certified zero-carbon industrial park.

In March, German chemicals giant BASF put its massive production complex in Guangdong Province into full operation. The complex, known as a Verbund site, helps drive the transformation of the chemical industry toward greener and lower-carbon development.

Yao Xin, vice dean of the Research Institute for Environmental Innovation (Suzhou), Tsinghua, addressed the forum that, as two of the world's major economies and manufacturing powers, China and Germany are not only working together to address the challenges of green transformation, but are also opening up new prospects for companies in both countries, especially small and medium-sized ones, during the transition process.

On the sidelines of the forum, Markus Staeblein, senior vice president of NXP Semiconductors N.V., told Xinhua that the company and its ecosystem partners were jointly developing ultra-low power Internet of Things (IoT) communication technologies and chips, while advancing the adoption of the technology in China.

"The Chinese market has always been extremely important to us," said Staeblein, highlighting tremendous progress China has made in recent years in automotive and humanoid robot sectors. He believes that NXP's technologies are well-positioned to help bring these emerging trends and innovations in China to life.

The NXP's project of ultra-low power IoT communication technologies and chips, alongside the SCIOFLEX Hydrogen's Asia-Pacific hydrogen energy materials testing laboratory project, were among the European-invested projects signed at the Beijing China-Germany economic and technological cooperation demonstration zone during the forum.

Germany has remained China's largest trading partner and biggest source of foreign investment in Europe, and the two countries have achieved extensive industrial integration.

China's appeal to German companies continues to strengthen. Data from the German Economic Institute show that new German direct investment in China amounted to roughly 7 billion euros in 2025, well above the approximately 4.5 billion euros recorded a year earlier.

Moreover, this week, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng called on China and Germany to further consolidate the foundation of traditional cooperation and tap the potential for cooperation in emerging fields while meeting with Germany's economy and energy minister Katherina Reiche and German business representatives in Beijing.