German Chancellor Angela Merkel, China's Vice Premier Ma Kai (L) and Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma pose for a picture during the official opening of the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover March 15, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

China is the official partner country of CeBIT 2015. Merkel welcomed Chinese companies coming to CeBIT 2015, saying they embody innovation and China's role as partner country of the fair is an essential component of China-Germany innovation cooperation.

Speaking of bilateral cooperation between China and Germany, Merkel said German and Chinese companies each have their own strengths, which provides cooperation opportunities for both sides in the field of digital economy.

Over 600 exhibitors from China, featuring a wide range of high- tech firms, including big names like Alibaba, Huawei, Xiaomi and ZTE, are taking part in this year's event, with a theme of "Innovation, Convergence, Cooperation".

Besides the big names, a wide range of small and medium sized enterprises will also present their latest products and solutions on smart cities, cloud computing, big data and other areas of digital economy.