A summit to reduce dependencies
The nineteenth Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK 2026) was held in Seoul from Thursday to Saturday and brought together German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and more than 800 participants, including executives from 400 companies, according to The Korea Herald. At the center of the proceedings was the desire of Germany and Asia-Pacific economies to expand industrial cooperation on artificial intelligence, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, against a backdrop of growing trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty.
Statements from the governments
In his Friday address, Merz said that competition between the United States and China, rising tariffs and geopolitical conflicts are rewriting the rules of global trade, making robust partnerships more important. The chancellor cited the structural similarity between the two countries' industries and a new high-tech cooperation framework signed between Germany and South Korea, covering microelectronics, industrial AI and robotics.
Prime Minister Han identified batteries, semiconductors and AI-assisted manufacturing as the three most promising areas. She argued that linking the two countries' industrial data and strengths could accelerate manufacturing innovation and lead to the definition of new industrial standards in the AI era, expressing hope that collaboration would expand from supply chains to resources and energy.
Companies and supply chains
Industrial AI was one of the main topics. Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens and chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, spoke of a unique opportunity for productivity and new business, stressing that no country or company can seize it alone. Busch cited collaborations already launched by Siemens with SK hynix in chip design, with Samsung C&T for next-generation data centers and with HD Hyundai for digital shipyards.
On the supply front, Stefan Rouenhoff, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, called for more resilient chains and diversified sources, warning that shortages and sharp price increases in raw materials could harm industrial production in both countries. South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan spoke of trusted interdependence rather than self-sufficiency, proposing joint investments in projects on critical minerals, processing technologies and recycling.
Startups and the limits of the framework
The conference included the second edition of the AI Startup Award, won by Vietnam's Enfarm in the agritech sector ahead of competitors from South Korea, India, Singapore and China. Business scenarios for 2030, corporate financial risks and industrial policies were also discussed, with executives from BASF, DHL Group, Thyssenkrupp and Deutsche Bank taking part. The edition closed on Saturday, returning to Seoul after 2007 and with the next appointment in Malaysia in 2028. The operational content of the bilateral technology framework and the modalities of future joint investments remain to be verified, as they were not detailed in the material.
