Mr. Jamal, 1000 international experts on the topic of Industry 4.0 in China - is such an event in China comparable to congresses in this country?

Jamal: Yes, absolutely. The participants included experts as well as university lecturers and company representatives. Prominent multinational companies such as Intel and Accenture were also represented. I was certainly surprised that there were so many participants at the 'Made in China 2025' event, as the initiative there is called in line with our 'Industry 4.0'.
For me personally, the closed-door meeting, which took place the day before the official event, was particularly interesting. As the only internationally invited participant from industry, I was able to experience the quality of the discussions among the hand-picked experts. The fact that the topic also has a high political profile was demonstrated by the fact that the Minister of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, Wan Gang, chaired this closed-door session and also opened the summit.

Why were you the only internationally invited participant from the industry?

Jamal: I was invited to present the global perspective on IIoT and Industry 4.0 from my point of view. The experts wanted to hear recommendations on how they can achieve the 'Made in China 2025' goal. And the fact that the Chinese are serious about Industry 4.0 can also be deduced from the fact that the representative of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Dr. Xiaopeng An, was present and also wanted to discuss technology trends in the USA and Germany with me personally.

How do you assess the cooperation and knowledge exchange between China and foreign countries?

Jamal: In my opinion, China is still in the information-gathering phase. Things like IIoT labs or Industry 4.0 labs are currently springing up like mushrooms. One example of this is the 'Industry 4.0 Smart Factory Lab' at Tongji University, which opened in 2014 and with which National Instruments is collaborating. The different levels of the two countries in the IIoT sector are also reflected in the general status of research and development in both countries: Germany already invests 3% of its gross domestic product in this area, compared to 2.1% in China. The target for 2020 is 2.5%.
Three years ago, the German and Chinese governments signed a strategic partnership to work together more closely in research and innovation. The first pilot projects are due to start this year - including on the topics of Industry 4.0, electromobility and energy.

Is the lab at Tongji University comparable to facilities in the USA and Germany?

Jamal: Yes, absolutely! You can see a complete production line with robots, digitally controlled machine tools as well as hardware and software such as robot slide rails, intelligent cameras, servers, control software and utilities. The lab aims to create a flexible production model with digitalization and personalization and become a demonstration project for a smart factory in the Chinese manufacturing industry.

How do you rate the innovative strength of the Chinese? In terms of Industry 4.0, at what level do you see China by 2025?

Jamal : With 'Made in China 2025', Chinese policymakers want to ensure that the country remains an attractive location for manufacturing even if it is no longer considered a low-wage country. If the Chinese market succeeds in implementing this plan, industrialized nations such as Germany will have to dress warmly!

So is it better to isolate yourself or cooperate?

Jamal : Germany has opted for cooperation, which I very much welcome: the Federal Ministry of Education and Research spends around 20 million euros a year on its China strategy. Our Chancellor has explicitly spoken out in favor of setting up a joint research fund to ensure a reliable framework for strategic cooperation with the Asian country. This fund is to be launched next year and will be filled with up to 4 million euros annually by each of the two countries from 2020. And there are a whole series of other examples of cooperation: The "German-Chinese Government Consultations" have been taking place since 2011 and have already been held three times. It should be noted that China is one of the few nations with which Germany has held such consultations. Ten 'Joint Declarations of Intent' have now been adopted in these consultations. These include the 'Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Sino-German Innovation Platform'. The focus of this platform, signed by the BMBF and MoST (Ministry of Science and Technology), is on innovation research and policy.
Another example of cooperation between Germany and China is the promotion of joint higher education institutions. This includes the aforementioned Sino-German University of Applied Sciences at Tongji University. In the 2016/2017 winter semester, 85 German and Swiss students studied there, 66 of whom were studying for a double Bachelor's degree. - This number of students is set to increase.

Mr Jamal, you were also awarded the title of visiting professor by the Chinese-German University of Applied Sciences during the trip. What impressions did you take away from the university?

Jamal : The CDHAW at Tongji University is the official Chinese-German faculty. I found it interesting that the students there all speak our language and that the lectures are also held in German. This also applied to my inaugural lecture as a visiting professor, which was attended by 200 interested Chinese students and in which I spoke on the topic of 'Platforms for IIoT'. All CDHAW students will also spend their fourth year of study in Germany. They will spend a semester at one of the 27 German or Swiss partner universities as well as a practical phase in a local company or write their Bachelor's thesis there.
Incidentally, I am the fourth German guest professor alongside representatives from SAP, VW and Phoenix Contact. This line-up alone clearly shows how seriously the Chinese take the topic of 'Industry 4.0', as they surround themselves with experts and skills from a wide range of industries.