The first China-Germany Hidden Champions Summit was held in Taicang, Jiangsu province from Nov 9 to 10, aiming to promote cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises from China and Germany.

The expression "hidden champions" was come up with by the German management thinker Hermann Simon in his book Hidden Champions in May 2005.

According to Hermann Simon, hidden refers to the enterprises barely noticed by the outside world and champion means these enterprises that almost dominate the market in their respective fields and are dedicated to a certain market segment.

A China-Germany Hidden Champions Club was set up during the summit, which will act as a friend circle among hidden champions from China and Germany to gather a group of social elites with influence, innovativeness and a strong sense of social responsibility and promote the sharing of information and resources.

The working group on investment promotion between auto industries in China and Germany was organized to strengthen the cooperation of two countries' enterprises in the field of electric vehicle.

The China-Germany Hidden Champions Summit – Taicang Declaration was also released during the summit. The declaration states that the cooperation between China and Germany should not only focus on traditional large scaled enterprises but also attach great importance on middle and small-sized enterprises with a good capacity of innovation.

According to the declaration, the two countries are expected to jointly popularize intelligent manufacturing, expand their cooperation, cultivate specialized talents, and create a good investment climate.

Taicang now has become a new hub of innovative cooperation between China and Germany in science, technology, education, culture, city construction and social management. At present, Taicang is home to 280 German companies with a total investment of over $3 billion and annual industrial output of $6 billion.

The first China-Germany Hidden Champions Summit is held in Taicang, Jiangsu province from Nov 9 to 10. [Photo/WeChat account: taicangdaily]