In January 2026, a delegation of German medium‑sized business leaders undertook an intensive one‑week discovery tour across China curated by AHK Greater China, traveling from Shanghai to Changsha, Hengyang, and Shenzhen.
The initiative was conceived and led by Markus Schmidt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of both Alois Müller GmbH and GreenTech Hub.
For the delegation, the China discovery tour demonstrated that meaningful engagement requires first‑hand experience, trusted partners, and openness to dialogue – qualities that are increasingly essential for German SMEs navigating a rapidly changing global landscape.
The Alois Müller Group is a second‑generation, family‑owned German industrial company founded more than 50 years ago. Its core focus lies in energy systems, spanning traditional energy infrastructure as well as renewables and future‑oriented technologies such as solar, wind, energy storage, hydrogen, and smart energy solutions.
The GreenTech Hub was established by several medium‑sized companies in the Allgäu/Bavaria united by a shared interest in innovation, future technologies and transformation as a platform of strong cooperation between SMEs and Start-ups. The main focus is on Green Technology and AI/digitization. It brings together enterprises from energy, automotive, packaging, civil engineering and mechanical engineering, while also integrating startups through incubator and accelerator programs.
“The purpose of the hub is to ensure that SMEs can build new businesses in emerging technologies, match with Start-ups, generate new growth opportunities, attract high qualified talents and remain competitive in the long term,” Mr. Schmidt explains.
Why a China discovery tour is important for German SMEs?
The idea for the China trip was rooted in Mr. Schmidt’s long personal and professional experience in China during his time at Bosch between 2000 to 2020. Having witnessed China’s rapid development over many years, he became convinced by the end of 2025 that first-hand experience was essential for the group.
“China is far too important to understand only through reports or second‑hand information,” he says. “You have to go to where things are happening.” The goal was therefore clear: an intensive, tightly packed week that would provide maximum insight into China’s industrial, technological, and innovation ecosystems.
The journey began in Shanghai with a briefing by AHK Greater China on China’s current economic situation and technological positioning, providing the delegation with strategic context before company visits began.
Shanghai was chosen as the starting point: a city representing international business, established industrial players, and advanced innovation infrastructure. The delegation group visited a carefully curated mix of Chinese SMEs, large technology leaders, and German companies long established in China. Stops included Yinjinda New Materials (plastic packaging), SAP Innovation Lab (digitalization and AI), XNODE (startup acceleration and entrepreneurship), and Pylon Technologies (energy storage), combining physical manufacturing depth with insights into digital transformation and innovation models.
From Shanghai, the delegation traveled inland to Changsha and Hengyang, regions less familiar to many German SMEs but central to China’s industrial backbone. In Changsha, the visit to SANY Truck stood out, offering hands‑on exposure to electric and hydrogen heavy‑duty vehicles, battery swapping, and hydrogen refueling infrastructure.
The subsequent visit to Ritar Power in Hengyang provided deep insights into battery manufacturing, R&D, and large‑scale energy storage solutions, including both lithium and advanced battery technologies.
The final leg of the journey took the delegation group to Shenzhen, widely regarded as China’s leading innovation hub. Here, the focus shifted strongly toward the integration of hardware, digitalization, and AI. Visits to the Siemens Energy Innovation Center, Huawei’s Bantian Campus, EV charging and energy storage companies such as Winline Technology and YOTAI Digital Energy, and a roundtable exchange with local new‑energy firms illustrated how rapidly China is combining industrial scale with digital intelligence.
The informal elements such as business lunches/dinners, site visits, and even experiencing China’s high‑speed rail infrastructure also gave participants a holistic understanding of the country’s pace, scale, and organization.
SMEs meeting SMEs: the cultural resonance for building partnerships
One of Mr. Schmidt’s takeaways from the China trip was the openness and professionalism of China’s private SMEs, some are also family-owned businesses.
“We were extremely well received,” he notes. “Many companies opened their production lines and R&D centers to us. As family‑owned companies ourselves, we felt a strong cultural connection.”
This direct exposure significantly deepened the group’s understanding of China’s privately owned SME sector, an area Mr. Schmidt believes is still underestimated in Germany.
A key success factor for the trip was the cooperation with AHK Greater China. For Mr. Schmidt, neutrality, professionalism, and trust were decisive, especially given that some participants were traveling to China for the first time. AHK Greater China not only handled logistics and scheduling across vast distances but also enabled high‑quality business interactions through briefings, company visits, and networking dinners. Just as importantly, the intense week strengthened relationships within the German delegation itself.
“AHK Greater China represent German companies in China, and also represents China in Germany, it’s a very good link between German industry culture and deep know-how of China,” He said.
“Based on my experience with German delegations, AHK Greater China is a highly professional and reliable partner especially for companies visiting China for the first time. In such a complex environment, you need an organization you can fully trust. There are many providers offering similar services, but AHK Greater China stands out for its neutrality, professionalism, and deep understanding of both Germany and China.”
For German SMEs in particular, AHK is a familiar and trusted reference through the IHK network, which makes cooperation straightforward and reassuring.
And such an experience creates trust and a common understanding that lasts well beyond the trip. Wei Su, CEO of XNODE, a company the delegation group visited in Shanghai, traveled to Germany to visit Mr. Schmidt in early April, and a concrete example of cooperation from the trip.
Strategically, the journey reinforced Alois Müller’s focus on actively shaping the transformation of energy systems in Germany and Europe covering renewables, energy storage, smart grids, flexibility, digitalization, energy security, and decarbonization. For GreenTech Hub, the priority remains building innovation fields by combining AI with physical products and enabling SMEs to successfully transform their business models.
Internationally, China is seen as a key partner, not only as a source of technology and products, but increasingly as a cooperation partner for joint development and future market expansion.
Asked what advice he would give to other German companies considering a similar journey, Mr. Schmidt offers a simple but pointed recommendation: choose the right balance, between cities, companies, and intensity, and above all: “Don’t talk about China. Talk with China.”