Siemens swears by local partnerships

Siemens AG plans to open a Belt and Road Initiative office in Beijing this year to further pursue the opportunities the initiative provides.

The company describes the B&R Initiative as "the most important and impactful global infrastructure program with the potential to become the blueprint for a new world trade order".

Not elaborating on the specific responsibility or function the office will take, Siemens said the company would ramp up a company-wide effort to continue teaming up with Chinese EPC partners to jointly explore businesses in countries and regions participating in the initiative.

"As an innovator throughout the world, we look forward to working for and with Chinese companies operating in the Belt and Road countries," said Cedrik Neike, member of the managing board, Siemens.

It is one of the largest foreign-invested companies in China. It has more than 32,000 employees working in numerous joint ventures and company operations across China.

"With our experience and world-class project management, Siemens has the potential to be bridge builders between Chinese players and international suppliers and customers," he said.

"Together with our Chinese EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) partners, we'll focus on paving the road to success in the countries involved with the initiative and we are committed to making continuous efforts for a business-oriented thought-leadership exchange."

Siemens has built a strong partnership with the Chinese government over recent years, which it believes will help it to seize further opportunities presented by the initiative.

It is also looking at cooperation in financial services. It is financing or co-financing strategic B&R projects as well as providing cooperation for development aid.

Chinese industry is becoming more and more global just like EPC players-and Siemens will help them enhance production efficiency and flexibility, product quality and shorten the time-to-market for new products, said Neike.

Siemens has had a series of cooperation agreements with Chinese industry players in recent years, including Baosteel Group Corporation, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, China Electronics Corporation and others to jointly work on intelligent manufacturing solutions.

According to Lothar Herrmann, CEO of Siemens Greater China, Siemens China was one of the earliest companies to partner with Chinese enterprises to explore overseas markets. This started about 20 years ago. "In recent years, with the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the rapid development of Chinese EPC enterprises in the global arena, we are picking up the speed more quickly than expected," he said.

By 2016, Siemens had joined forces with more than 100 Chinese EPCs, including CNPC, Sinopec and Power China, in exploring some 60 markets overseas worldwide.

Siemens will continue to help China's companies adapt to local markets and expand their footprint worldwide in various fields, including power, oil and gas, chemicals, minerals and building materials, he said.

"We can help Chinese EPCs thrive in complex market environment overseas, increase project efficiency, and enter into mature markets."