The Satellite event of the AsiaBerlin Summit 2025, focusing on Sino-German Innovation Cooperation, “Connected Futures: Sino-German Innovation Dialogue”, took place on November 27 at BetaHaus in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
The event was jointly organised by Berlin Business Desk China and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin under the patronage of Berlin SenWEB and AsiaBerlin and supported by CHKD, Berlin Partner and Humboldt Innovation. The forum brought together over 80 industry leaders, academics as well as government and corporate representatives from China and Germany to showcase the latest achievements in the two countries' science, technology and economic development, while fostering in-depth exchanges on strengthening the Sino-German innovation ecosystem and exploring new pathways for economic cooperation. Participants also shared perspectives on future collaborative trends.
The activity opened with remarks from Dr. Jens Homann, Head of Unit Foreign Trade, European Economic Policy, Development Cooperation at Berlin SenWEB; Mr. Ma Guo Liang, First Secretary of the Economic and Trade Department at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Federal Republic of Germany and Mr. Timon Rupp, Vice-President of Asia Berlin Forum e.V. Their remarks focused on deepening Sino-German innovation cooperation, setting a constructive tone for the dialogue.
In a keynote speech titled “From egosystem to ecosystem – for entrepreneurs” Volker Hofmann, Managing Director of Humboldt Innovation, shared Berlin's experience in building a regional innovation ecosystem, illustrating with cases such as AI Nation and Startup Factory UNITE Berlin’s ability to bring founders together and support their start-up development. Dr. Sarah Yu, COO of TSIT (Europe), delivered a keynote address titled “From Going Global to Growing Local: Deep Integration in Germany’s Innovation Ecosystem”. Drawing on over a decade of experience supporting Chinese enterprises in Europe, she analyzed challenges faced during overseas expansion. She emphasized that the approach of "Understanding, engaging, integrating, and becoming part of the European landscape" is not only a key development strategy but also reflects a philosophy of open-mindedness, mutual benefit, and shared prosperity – essential for enhancing the global participation of Chinese enterprises.
A panel discussion on the theme “Internationalisation as a Driver for Innovation” featured insights from Mr. Prof. Dr. Nicola Pinna (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Mr. Dr. Ulrich Scheller (CEO of Campus Berlin-Buch GmbH), Mr. Ning Wang (President & CEO of Yinlun Europe Holding B.V.) and Ms. Anna Wiese (Manager International Startups at Berlin Partner). Representing both academia and industry, the panelists engaged in a substantive exchange on new opportunities and challenges in Sino-German business and scientific collaboration, discussing how cooperation models can be adapted and enhanced under evolving circumstances. The session was moderated by Ms. Dr. Isabelle Harbrecht, Strategic Partnership Manager Asia/Pacific at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
The event also included a pitching session, where seven startups and companies from Germany and China – Automotive Berlin Brandenburg e.V., Borochi Climate Solutions GmbH, Dreame Technology, Messe Berlin China, Yunxiangtianxia Chengdu, SirDash and Youzu AI – presented their sector-specific innovations, their unique strengths, and put forward concrete ideas for collaboration.
The Satellite Event has helped strengthen exchanges and cooperation among industry, academia, and research institutes in China and Germany by establishing a platform for deepening practical collaboration between the two countries in the fields of scientific and technological innovation and business cooperation, contributing to the deepening of bilateral relations. Moving forward, Berlin Business Desk China will continue to uphold its mission of serving as a bridge for two-way economic and trade cooperation between Berlin and China.
