China tops number of foreign visitors and exhibitors in Germany's Hannover Fair

HANOVER - China has topped the number of foreign visitors and exhibitors in this year's Hannover Messe, a world-leading industry fair in Germany, said its organizer Friday here at the closing ceremony.

Over 33 percent of some 210,000 visitors came from outside Germany. Among them, China took the lead with 6,500, followed by the Netherlands, Poland and the United States.

Under the theme of "Integrated Industry -- Connect & Collaborate", this year's fair attracted more than 5,000 exhibitors from 75 countries and regions, among which 60 percent was from outside Germany. With over 1,000 exhibitors, China ranked first followed by this year's official partner country Mexico.

The five-day fair has mainly focused on five sectors, including Integrated Automation, Digital Factory, Energy, Industrial Supply and Research & Technology.

Jochen Kockler, chairman of the organizer Deutsche Messe, stressed at the same day the importance of human being in the digital transformation of the industry.

"Technology is not about competing with us humans; it's about assisting us," said Kockler.

"The interaction of humans with machines and IT adds up to a huge competitive gain across manufacturing, logistics and the energy industry," he added.

The next fair will take place from April 1 to 5 in 2019, with Sweden as the official partner country.