Siemens Semiconductor Division officially entered the Chinese market in 1995 as the predecessor of Infineon Technologies (China) Co. Since the establishment of its first business in Wuxi in 1996, Infineon has achieved very rapid growth and with more than 1,400 employees in China (excluding Qimonda), has become a key driver of Infineon's business development in Asia-Pacific and globally.
Since its entry into China, Infineon has continuously responded to the needs of its customers and the market by developing and producing a series of products that can be applied to the local market. At present, Infineon's advanced semiconductor solutions have been widely used in various fields. Meanwhile, with our strong technical strength and world-leading experience, we have launched in-depth cooperation with leading domestic manufacturers, including ZTE, Huawei, Founder, Gemini, and so on, to make due contribution to the take-off of China's electronics industry.
Infineon has established a complete industrial chain covering R&D, production, sales and marketing, and technical support in China. In terms of R&D, Infineon has established R&D centers in Shanghai and Xi'an to take advantage of domestic talent resources and participate in global key project research; a back-channel production plant in Wuxi to produce advanced chip products for China and other global markets; and a comprehensive sales network centered on Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong in China. At the same time, we have developed in-depth cooperation with leading domestic enterprises and institutions of higher learning in sales, product OEM, technology R&D, and talent training.
We are committed to developing industry standards and supporting China's IC industry to enhance its competitiveness by working hand-in-hand with the government and research institutes, in line with our commitment to rooting in China. We have established laboratories with leading universities in China for R&D cooperation in automotive electronics, smart cards, etc. Projects now underway include the automotive electronics lab at Tongji University in Shanghai and the internal combustion engine lab at Tianjin University, among others. We set aside special funds every year to set up scholarships in many leading universities, such as Fudan University, Xi'an University of Electronic Science and Technology, Tongji University, etc., to cultivate outstanding technical and managerial talents and provide them with a broad space to show their talents.
As a good corporate citizen, Infineon is committed to giving back to the society and helping China achieve sustainable development. We are actively engaged in activities to subsidize the enrollment of underprivileged children in schools. On the one hand, we call on Infineon's employees in China to donate money and materials to help children in underprivileged areas to return to school; on the other hand, we send our employees to poor areas to provide voluntary teaching and contribute to the development of China's basic education.
China plays a pivotal role in Infineon's global strategy, and we have witnessed the great achievements of China's reform and opening up in our past development process. Looking to the future, we are willing to work closely with China at the core level, to develop with the fast-growing Chinese IC industry***, and to create brilliance with China***!