Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and governor of Hunan Province, met in Changsha with a delegation of German entrepreneurs led by Shi Mingde, president of the China Germany Friendship Association, on the afternoon of November 14, 2025. The guests came to Hunan to attend the "Invest in China 2025—China-Germany Financial and Automotive Cooperation and Matchmaking Conference."
Also present were Wu Guiying, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and secretary of the CPC Changsha Municipal Committee, and Qu Hai, secretary-general of the People's Government of Hunan Province.
Governor Mao meets with China Germany Friendship Association President Shi Mingde.
Governor Mao welcomed the guests and briefly introduced the economic and social development of Hunan Province. He noted that Hunan is now accelerating the building of a "4×4" modern industrial system, with the automotive industry—particularly new energy vehicles—showing promising growth. Last year, 1.486 million vehicles were manufactured in Hunan, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%. The new energy vehicles accounted for 66.4% of the total output, ranking second in central parts of China.
Germany is Hunan's largest trading partner in Europe, with solid cooperation foundations in high-end manufacturing, automotive, and new energy sectors. Currently, 31 German companies such as nine Fortune Global 500 ones have invested a total of 4.05 billion USD in Hunan. German enterprises such as Bosch and Schaeffler have been deeply involved in Hunan's industrial upgrading and have formed a complete industrial chain in the automotive and related components sectors. In the first three quarters of this year, Hunan's trade with Germany grew 15% year on year to 12.92 billion CNY.
Hunan warmly welcome German entrepreneurs to settle down, invest in, and grow with Hunan. Both sides may strengthen collaboration in such areas as industrial and supply chain integration, high-level platform establishment, and skilled talent cultivation, achieving a powerful synergy between Hunan's intelligent manufacturing and German precision. The governor expressed his hope that the China Germany Friendship Association will continue to serve as a bridge and link, enhancing promotion and outreach for Hunan, supporting the development of German SME Headquarters Cluster (Hunan), and encouraging more high-quality German enterprises and institutions to invest in Hunan. Hunan will persistently optimize its business environment and build a more open and efficient ecosystem for cooperation with Germany.
The meeting.
President Shi remarked that China and Germany are each other's largest trading partners in their respective regions, with bilateral cooperation—particularly in the automotive industry—exhibiting a mutually interdependent yet two-way dynamic pattern. Hunan boasts a comprehensive industrial base, a favorable business environment, and abundant talent resources. The province possesses distinct complementary advantages with Germany in advanced manufacturing, new energy vehicles, rail transit, and other sectors. Notably, the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and the provincial government have attached high importance to cooperation with Germany, taking the lead nationwide in introducing policy measures to deepen this partnership, thereby creating new opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration. The China Germany Friendship Association will continue to promote more German enterprises to learn about Hunan, arrange business in Hunan, and expand their deep-rooted presence in Hunan, contributing to deeper exchanges and interactions between Hunan and Germany.
Photos taken by Liu Shangwen.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Yu Jiangjiang
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn
