KDX Europe Composites R&D Center, co-founded by China's composite material company KDX Group and the German government, opens in Munich, Germany on June 6, 2017. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

Two companies from Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province recently won financial support from the provincial department of science and technology for their international collaborations.

KDX Group, a listed Chinese composite material company, was granted 700,000 yuan ($104,188) for its establishment of the KDX Europe Composites R&D Center in Munich, Germany in early June.

The 3,000-square-meter center was a joint effort of the KDX Group and the German government, which by contributing 30 million and 700 million euros respectively, was set to be an industrial hub specializing in carbon fiber and providing lightweight solutions for vehicles.

"Improving the construction of networks between China and other countries is meaningful," said Zheng Tianyou, chief strategy officer at KDX.

Shi Mingde, Chinese ambassador to Germany, also expressed his confidence in the establishment of the center, as it reflected the deepened Sino-German cooperation concerning both the Made in China 2025 and Industry 4.0 strategies.

Officials from China and Germany announce the establishment of KDX Europe Composites R&D Center on June 6, 2017. [Photo/kangdegroup.com]

Zhangjiagang Onechip Bio-Technology Co was also granted for its close connections with Canada's University of Waterloo in the field of nanoscale electronic biochemical sensors, whose cooperation ranges from R&D to applications in specific fields.

Like KDX and Onechip, many companies in Zhangjiagang are now eagerly enhancing their international collaborations with the support of municipal and provincial governments. By applying new international cooperative patterns such as conducting technological exchanges and setting up overseas R&D centers, Zhangjiagang's footsteps toward industrial transformation are firm and vigorous.