To implement the deployment of Sino-German cooperation in elderly care and digital innovation, and to support the high-quality industrial development of Mentougou District, a delegation recently led by Cui Xulong, Executive Deputy District Chief of Mentougou District, conducted a special official visit to North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, organized and arranged by the BVMW Shandong Representative Office. The delegation included Zhang Ran, Director of the District Development and Reform Commission; Liang Jian, Director of the Mentougou Branch of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources; and Ma Qi, Director of the District State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The delegation engaged extensively with high-quality German entities, focusing primarily on deepening discussions on OWL-related elderly care projects, aiming to upgrade Sino-German cooperation and inject new momentum into regional industrial transformation.
Adhering to the principle of "extensive outreach with a focused core," with precise coordination by the BVMW Shandong Representative Office, the delegation successively visited several key German entities, including Lippische Landesbrandversicherung AG, e-ducatio OWL GmbH, and TH OWL. The core focus was on OWL-related projects and associated institutions, covering fields such as scientific research, education, and digital solutions for elderly care, thereby creating a comprehensive cooperation framework aligned with the visit's theme.
The key OWL (Ostwestfalen-Lippe) region elderly care projects and partner entities offer complementary advantages, forming a robust digital elderly care ecosystem. Specifically, it's OWL, as an Industry 4.0 innovation cluster, provides core technologies like sensors and AI systems applicable to risk identification and digital care; ISY Care specializes in smart elderly care solutions, offering full-process digital support for home- and community-based care; Professor Volker Lohweg's team at TH OWL has outstanding achievements in smart health and AI, capable of enhancing the project's intelligence level; e-ducatio OWL GmbH supports talent development; and Lippische Landesbrandversicherung AG enriches elderly care services through its bAV (company pension scheme) operating model and digital pension experience.
Focusing on OWL elderly care projects and considering the current situation and trends in North Rhine-Westphalia's elderly care industry (e.g., increasing aging population, growth of bAV), the delegation held in-depth discussions with each partner. They identified four major areas of cooperation, all revolving around the OWL elderly care projects:
Insurance Cooperation: Leverage the strengths of relevant institutions and OWL technology to introduce German bAV concepts and jointly establish corporate supplementary pension advisory models and financial products, thereby improving Mentougou's elderly care security system.
Digital Demonstration Cooperation: Introduce ISY Care solutions for home-based elderly care pilots; jointly build data security and risk assessment models using it's OWL technology; and advance the establishment of a joint laboratory with the TH OWL team.
Education Cooperation: Collaborate with relevant German institutions to establish a talent cultivation system and professional standards for the "elderly care finance + smart elderly care" sector, drawing on OWL's experience.
Data & AI Cooperation: Jointly develop aging risk models, intelligent monitoring systems, and insurance pricing algorithms to drive the digital upgrade of elderly care services in Mentougou District.
The exchange yielded significant results. Supported by the professional organization and resource connection of the BVMW Shandong Representative Office, the delegation reached multiple cooperation intentions through extensive outreach and a focused approach on OWL projects, achieving a precise match between high-quality OWL resources and Mentougou's needs. This provides crucial support for the regional elderly care industry upgrade, broadens the scope for Sino-German digital elderly care cooperation, and establishes a platform for implementing OWL projects in China.
In the next steps, with continued support from the BVMW Shandong Representative Office, both sides will deepen collaboration with the various German partners, focus on the OWL projects and the four cooperation opportunities, work towards implementing the cooperation intentions, accelerate the establishment of pilot projects and the joint laboratory, and promote the deployment of OWL technologies and services. This joint effort aims to help Mentougou District become a new hub for elderly care and digital integration, elevate bilateral Sino-German cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.