Mechanics and engineers from Germany sign up for a 10-day skills challenge in Taicang, Jiangsu province on Nov 10.[Photo/tcfbgw]

The first "Taicang Cup" Sino-German High End Manufacturing Vocational Skills Competition kicked off in Taicang, Jiangsu province on Nov 10, attracting 347 manufacturing professionals from China and Germany.

The participants will form teams and participate in five challenge categories, including industrial robotics, mold making, and mechatronics, which combines electronic, mechanics and control software.

Treffinger Stefan, leader of the Germany mechanic team, said he hopes participants from both countries can learn new skills from each other.

The competition was jointly hosted by the municipal government and the Shanghai office of Industrie-und Handelskammmer to showcase vocational skills, deepen friendship, and boost Sino-German cooperation in personnel training.

German mechanics work on their design blueprint in Taicang on Nov 10. [Photo/tcfbgw]

The county-level city of Taicang is a national model for Sino-German cooperation and has attracted more than 300 German companies so far, which have invested an aggregate of $4.5 billion and produced more than 50 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) in industrial output annually, official figures show.