STRIVING FOR CORE TECH

As the rising tide of isolation and protectionism was perceived as a major threat to the global economy, ideas for free trade and global cooperation were widely embraced at the fair.

Juergen Friedrich, chief executive of Germany Trade and Investment, the country's economic development agency, said that over 4,000 Chinese companies operating in Germany have created more than 60,000 jobs, a solid proof of China's contributions to Germany.

Friedrich called for the Germany-China relationship to be furthered tapped.

"Globalization is an inevitable and irreversible trend and we are the beneficiary of the process. Only through opening up and cooperation can a win-win outcome be achieved," said Wei Yiyin, vice president of the China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (CASIC).

After acquiring an electronic engineering company in Luxembourg in 2013, the CASIC's sales volume was doubled five years later.

Qiu Heng, head of global market of Huawei, said the company is making forward-looking plan for core technologies like 5G and a time-sensitive network.

"Corporations must input more in R&D," said Qiu, adding that the company's investment in R&D this year will surpass 100 billion yuan ($15.86 billion).

Ren Xueliang, senior director of Haier Industrial Engineer, said the company spent 10 years to develop COSMOPlat, an industrial Internet platform introducing users into the whole process of production and mass customization solutions.

R&D needs time, resolution and patience, said Ren, stressing that only persistence can lead to success.

"One of the major differences in industries between China and the developed countries is the accumulation of experience: we have only 30 years of history but Schneider almost two centuries," said Gao Jianguo, president of Changde Tianma Electrical Corporation, which signed a new cooperation agreement with France's electrical giant company Schneider Electric.

"If we want to catch up with the world's most advanced technologies, we need to be open and keep learning," Gao said.