Luo Huining, Party chief of Shanxi province, addresses a meeting about the two countries' economies, trade, academic exchanges and business activities in Berlin on Sept 5. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

A Shanxi government, business and university delegation led by Luo Huining, Party chief of Shanxi province, visited Germany from Sept 3 to 6, on the European leg of the 2018 Shanxi Brands Silk Road Tour.

The delegation met with German political parties and government officials, sharing perspectives on renewable energy and local government collaboration between Shanxi and Germany.

Furthering economic and trade partnerships between the province and Germany was a major objective of the delegation's visit. And the group visited local companies as well as industrial and trade organizations, promoting mutual investment and technological cooperation.

One such visit was to the country's Ruhr industrial base in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the delegation discovered how Germany was changing its energy mix from fossil fuels to renewable sources.

Luo Huining (left) hands out letters of appointment to 35 foreign experts who will work in Shanxi, at the meeting in Berlin on Sept 5. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

A meeting about economic ties, trade, academic exchanges and business activities between Shanxi and Germany was also held while the delegation was in Berlin.

Major coal, energy, IT and machinery companies from Shanxi, such as Datong Coal Mine Group, Guochang New Energy Co and Qinghui Mechanical Manufacturing Co, agreed 31 projects with German companies, including RWE Power and SMS Group.

The agreements relate to the purchase of equipment, technology transfer, joint ventures, joint design and R&D, the sales of Chinese goods on commission, and joint development planning.

In addition to business cooperation, several universities from Shanxi reached agreements with eight German universities and recruited 18 foreign experts from German, Greek and Swedish universities and companies. The new recruits will work in Shanxi in order to help enhance the quality of education in the province.