Nanjing’s determination to transform itself from a production base to a research center reflects China’s evolution toward higher-quality development.  

A refrigerator that thaws frozen meat in 10 minutes and then keeps it fresh, a cooker hood that remains clean even after 10 years without disassembling it for cleaning, a vacuum cooking chamber that enables the preparation of Michelin worthy dishes at home … Inside the BSH Electrical Appliances (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., in Nanjing, the capital city of east China’s Jiangsu Province, all these futuristic products can be experienced in a setting where the fascinating combination of high tech and everyday convenience magically converge.

BSH entered the Chinese market in 1994 and established a presence in Nanjing. Over the following 30 years, the German household appliance manufacturer accelerated the development of its local industrial chain. One of the first milestones was the founding of BSH China Sales Co., Ltd. in Nanjing in 1997 for the establishment of a sales and service network in China.

In 2004, BSH Electrical Appliances (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. and the BSH Appliance Park in the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone were established, creating a production site with three collaborative factories for washing machines, kitchen appliances, and motors. In 2011, its Chinese research center was established in Nanjing, and in 2020, the company inaugurated a new 47,000-square-meter building of the research center with an investment of RMB 400 million. In June 2024, BSH upgraded its Chinese research center into the largest integrated global research center within the corporate group. Since then, over 700 employees have been engaged in research and development.

“Our global research center focuses on the development of core products and is dedicated to research and innovation in advanced technology,” said Chen Chao, general manager of BSH Electrical Appliances (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. The elevation to a global research center is equivalent to launching a “Chinese innovation engine.” “We leverage China’s research capabilities to serve the group’s global market,” said Chen.

But why did it choose Nanjing? Yao Yong, chairman of BSH Electrical Appliances (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., cited the vast Chinese market, the city’s favorable conditions to develop skilled personnel and the innovative spirit as the key.

“The vast Chinese market offers a broad application context for our research findings. Besides, China possesses abundant talent resources. In particular, Nanjing, home to a large number of top universities, provides companies like ours with a highly qualified workforce. China is also a hub of innovation. Across all industries, including the home appliance sector, innovation is highly valued,” said Yao. Thanks to the support of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone, the company has established collaborations with several universities in Jiangsu, including Nanjing University, Southeast University, and Jiangnan University, in areas such as AI, food management, and textiles.

BSH’s strategic shift from “production-centered” to “research-centered,” also reflects Nanjing’s efforts to promote innovation and research in the city in a bid to expand high-level external engagement.

In recent years, the city has been attracting leading global supply chain companies and the functional headquarters of multinational corporations. From this year, the metropolis has also implemented initiatives such as a Nanjing Tour of German Enterprises and a Nanjing Tour of European High-Level Entrepreneurs, through which it has handled over 160 cooperation intentions and signed 16 high-quality projects.

In addition, Nanjing is fully leveraging its resource advantages, including a strong cluster of universities and a big talent pool to support foreign enterprises in research and innovation. Nanjing released its 2025 Foreign Investment Stabilization Measures last May, explicitly announcing that, in the coming years, there will be intensified support for foreign companies in their research and development. Measures like this have proven effective, with the number of foreign research centers in the city growing from an initial nine in 2021 to 48 today.

This March, PwC China published I Insights from MNC senior executives in China: Integrating China’s innovation ecosystem into MNCs’ global strategies. The report indicates that multinational companies, when selecting locations for their innovation and research centers, pay particular attention to the “availability of talent” (55 percent of respondents) and the “protection of intellectual property” (41 percent of respondents).

And it is precisely here that Nanjing seems to excel, as the city provides the necessary support through skilled professionals, combined with its growing efforts to improve IPR protection. This combination encourages MNCs to increase their engagement in this provincial capital.

According to Tao Yuanyuan, deputy director of the Investment Promotion Office of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone, in the first half of last year, the zone, together with the Public Security Bureau, investigated a case of trademark infringement, which saved the Swedish company Epiroc a loss of more than RMB 67 million. “IPR protection encourages companies to invest in research and development, which in turn drives industrial innovation and the development of new products,” she said.

Nanjing’s transformation from a production hub to a research center is a microcosm of China’s success in its pursuit of high-quality development. In today’s China, the steady progress in numerous areas such as technology, foreign trade, intelligent manufacturing, and IPR protection provides foreign enterprises with ample opportunities for deeper cooperation. From “Made in China” to “Innovated in China,” the country is opening its door wider and wider to embrace the world, prompting foreign companies to increasingly establish a presence in China and serve the world from here.