German Center is one of many projects that have been undertaken since 1995 by the German government aimed at providing a springboard for small and medium-sized German companies to venture into international markets.

The Taicang German Center is its third iteration in China, after Beijing and Shanghai, and the eighth branch worldwide. It is located in Dongting Mansion, with an area of 8,500 square meters across five floors at a cost of $120 million from Bayerische Landesbank.

The center opened on June 2, 2016 to serve its customers with all-round services, including market consulting, law services, translation services, office rentals and financial services.

German Center Taicang opens on June 2, 2016 in East China’s Jiangsu province. [Photo/Taicang Daily]

"German Center is a strong platform for Sino-German cooperation, and will promote Industry 4.0 (the convergence of information and automation for producing smart manufacturing) to drive Taicang's economic growth," says Zhu Wanli, deputy mayor of Taicang city.

The German Center chose Taicang as its location, despite the neighboring German Center in Shanghai, on the basis of feedback received from Taicang's German companies. "Taicang is attractive, and the local government is friendly and experienced in dealing with them," said Xia Jian'an, CEO of the Shanghai center.

He added that the German Center Taicang will be a bridge to help both German businesses enter Chinese markets and Chinese enterprises to reach European markets.

Ma Tisi, managing director of the German Center Taicang, told reporters that non-first-tier cities will become the future of the Chinese market.

German Center Taicang is designed with environmentally friendly elements. [Photo/Taicang Daily]

On opening day, 12 German companies decided to settle in the center, most of them engaged in service businesses like auditing and recruitment, including Ueberall GmbH and Schindhelm.

For more information: http://www.germancentretaicang.com/