In a strong endorsement of China’s manufacturing ecosystem, a senior executive from German industrial giant Siemens has stated that companies aiming for global leadership in industrial artificial intelligence must maintain a significant presence in China. Xinhua reported from the Hannover Messe 2026 trade fair in Germany that Cedrik Neike, CEO of Siemens Digital Industries and a member of Siemen AG’s managing board, emphasized that China’s unique combination of scale, speed, and comprehensive supply chains makes it the indispensable testbed for real-world AI applications.
“China is a global leader in AI, moving fast on development and adoption, while also having one of the most comprehensive industrial value chains and largest manufacturing market,” Neike said. His comments come at a time when Western policymakers are increasingly scrutinizing technological investments in China. However, for multinational industrial conglomerates like Siemens, the commercial and technological imperatives of operating within the Chinese ecosystem appear to outweigh geopolitical pressures.
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Deep Roots and Local Innovation
Siemens has been deeply embedded in the Chinese market for over 150 years, currently holding more than 6,000 active patents and patent applications in the country. Neike highlighted that in March 2026 alone, Siemens launched 26 new products, all developed and manufactured in China and engineered for scale. This localized approach reflects a broader strategy among foreign multinationals to transition from simply manufacturing in China for export, to innovating in China for the global market—a strategy often termed “In China, for China and the World.”
“We invest and innovate locally and continue to grow together with our Chinese partners,” Neike stated, affirming that “China is and will remain a key market for Siemens.” He pointed to frontier sectors such as new materials, biopharma, aerospace, and robotics as key areas where Siemens sees new opportunities to collaborate with Chinese partners at the dawn of the AI era. The speed at which Chinese industrial players are innovating positions the country to translate theoretical AI models into tangible productivity gains.
The Hype Cycle Meets Reality
The theme of this year’s Hannover Messe, “Think Tech Forward,” heavily featured the transition of industrial AI from theoretical experimentation to practical deployment. Neike noted that the industry is currently at the “most critical point in the hype cycle,” where the focus must shift toward applications that make AI “lastingly productive.”
According to Neike, Chinese companies possess the essential qualities needed for AI success: the curiosity to experiment, the humility to embrace diverse ideas, and the courage to share knowledge and data. “Combined with speed and scale, China’s economy is the ideal testbed to develop new technologies and new products with industrial AI,” he concluded. As the US and Europe debate how to manage technological competition with Beijing, Siemens’ perspective underscores a pragmatic reality: for the heavy industries driving the physical economy, decoupling from China’s AI ecosystem is not a viable path to global leadership.