China and Germany are both global manufacturing and export powerhouses. German industry is at the cutting edge of technology and a leader in smart manufacturing. Their Industry 4.0 policy refers to the current trend of automation and data exchange.

Efforts to connect people, objects, and machines using the internet -- dubbed "the internet of things" -- is the focus of Germany's Internet 4.0 intitiative.  China's manufacturing industry still relies heavily on manual labor. Its 2025 development plan aims to move China up the manufacturing value chain.

The plan involves heavy investment in 10 key industries, such as robotics. German and China signed an agreement earlier this week pledging to coordinate the two countries manufacturing initiatives.