During his recent high-level visit to China, Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen visited Danfoss’ factory in Tianjin to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between Denmark and China.
The visit, which took place from 17 to 19 May 2025, highlighted Denmark’s long-standing economic engagement with China. Danfoss’ Tianjin facility, opened in 1996, was the company’s first in China and remains a core part of its manufacturing operations in the region. The site produces components for HVAC, refrigeration, and industrial use, and is also home to a major R&D centre for sustainable cooling and heating technologies.
In 2019, the World Economic Forum recognised the factory as a Lighthouse Factory—an honour reserved for some of the world’s most advanced production sites—thanks to its integration of AI-powered inspections, smart sensors, and full automation. The factory runs entirely on renewable energy sourced from a nearby solar farm.
In 2023, Danfoss expanded the Tianjin campus with a 7,000m² research centre focused on green technologies, including heat pumps and cooling systems for data centres. Later this year, the company will open its largest global production hub in Haiyan. The 126,000m² campus will also be powered entirely by renewable energy.
Speaking at the Tianjin site, Minister Rasmussen praised Danfoss as an example of how Danish-Chinese cooperation has deepened in the past three decades.
“Danfoss is a great example of that development. It becomes very tangible when visiting this campus, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, and seeing how it forms an integrated part of Danfoss’ global value creation chain,” said Rasmussen.
