Opening Ceremony on 19th October 2019

The Sino-German Center of Mechanical Engineering was jointly established by the Sino-German College and the School of Mechanical Engineering of Tongji University in 2019. It is part of the "Two Departments and Two Centers" along with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Energy Engineering, and the Engineering Practice Center. The center is led and managed by the School of Mechanical Engineering and serves as a "locomotive" within the Two Departments and Two Centers, training international industry elites who understand both Chinese and European engineering standards.

At the end of May 2022, Tongji University launched the "Sino-German Cooperation 2.0 Strategy" to create a new ecosystem of cooperation with Germany that features "one roof, three pillars, two hard and one soft, and three-in-one" elements. The Sino-German Center of Mechanical Engineering relies on multiple Sino-German cooperation platforms established by Tongji University, including the Sino-German College, the first Chinesisch-Deutsches Doktorandenkolleg der Tongji-Universität approved by the Ministry of Education, and the Sino-German Joint Research Center (Tongji University). The center engages in high-quality talent development through the integration of science and education.

The Sino-German Center of Mechanical Engineering has established the Sino-German Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTC), the Sino-German Smart Construction Machinery Center (SCMC), the Sino-German Green Energy Engineering Center (GEEC), and the Sino-German Smart and Green Engineering Innovation Practice Base (SEIL). The center has also jointly established the International Data Space Lab (Data Space) with Germany, focusing on the two main themes of "intelligent technology and green development" of the Sino-German Joint Research Center (Tongji University). The center engages in extensive international scientific research and practical cooperation, integrating talent development.

Furthermore, the center maintains long-term cooperation relationships with well-known German Industry 4.0 companies and well-known Chinese companies, such as Siemens, Phoenix Contact, Hirschvogel, and CloudMinds.