German cleaning solutions provider Karcher Group sees consumers and factories in China adopting digital solutions faster than most markets, and the company is learning from the country's experience to scale its technologies globally, said its chief financial officer for China.

"For Karcher, 'new intelligent economy' means artificial intelligence plus real economy plus sustainability. Not just models, but embedded, practical intelligence that makes industries cleaner, safer and more efficient," said Rainer Kern, CFO of Karcher China.

"For developing AI solutions, we see China as the forefront in certain areas, and we want to leverage those kinds of skills. That's why our plant will transform more from a simple high-volume plant into a smart AI plant where new products, new concepts and also new technologies will be trialed," Kern said.

"Our strategy is to tap into China's knowledge, experience, skills, research and development and supply chain ecosystem which the country has built up. We see a whole AI landscape.

"China offers a multiple connected environment and that's a unique system which we want to leverage better than we have in the past. That's why we have made this decision for the China plant to be an innovation hub, to really try and use those kinds of new technologies and then export them into other plants around the world once we've proven that they are working for us here," Kern said.

The National Data Administration estimated that by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China's AI-related industry would surpass 10 trillion yuan ($1.47 trillion).

Huang Tao, an independent expert in AI, said: "AI helps to liberate humanity. AI is upgrading from an auxiliary tool to a core driving force in the field of household cleaning. It uses intelligent sensors, path planning and scene recognition technology to enable devices such as floor cleaning robots and floor scrubbers to achieve autonomous navigation, stain classification cleaning and adaptive adjustments, greatly improving cleaning efficiency and the user experience."

Wang Tao, executive director of Huawei, said at an earlier press conference that the era of intelligence has arrived, and AI is comprehensively restructuring the industry ecosystem, reshaping people's work and lives.

Kern agreed: "In Karcher's practice, we integrate AI into cleaning robots, smart sensor networks, as well as AI-powered service and maintenance. We are transitioning from selling machines to providing intelligent, sustainable cleaning solutions — this is the core transformation of our industry driven by the new intelligent economy."

He sees China as the global engine of innovation and manufacturing, especially in smart and green industries. "For us, it's really important to innovate here, to innovate for the China market and to understand the trends. Here, AI helps us to understand and anticipate those trends. China has a tremendously fast development cycle."

"Concepts and products which work in China are adapted by Chinese consumers, they can easily be rolled out to other markets half a year or one year later because those cycles also embrace and grow in other markets," he said.

In 2023, Karcher built its Global R&D Center in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, with an investment of 100 million yuan. It is the group's first overseas research and development center.

zhengyiran@chinadaily.com.cn