German industrial group Siemens AG has entered into a partnership with Tsinghua University, one of Siemens' center of knowledge interchange universities, to jointly set up a robotics research center in Beijing. Siemens is investing heavily in the future of China and partnering with the country and many customers on its way to digitalization.

As part of the company's innovation strategy to master technology fields that are critical for future success, a global research community comprising experienced experts from around the world will focus on the research and development of new mechatronics systems, human-robot collaboration and the application of artificial intelligence in robotic controllers.

Siemens has also teamed up with a number of local governments and 87 local universities and technology institutes in China to conduct scientific research and develop talent. China has become one of Siemens' largest R&D locations worldwide. In its fiscal year 2016 ended on September 30, 2016, Siemens had over 4,500 R&D researchers and engineers, 20 R&D hubs and more than 11,000 active patents and patent applications in China.