Globe's eyes on innovation, entrepreneurship fair

Representatives from cities, industries, universities, incubators take part in event's forums, campaigns, contests, Zhang Zhao and Li Yu report.

World-renowned investors, innovation teams, universities and research institutes took part in the 2015 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair that ran from Monday through Wednesday, demonstrating a full chain of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The event is believed to be the first of its kind in China focusing on entrepreneurship.

Organizers said that innovation and entrepreneurship are current trends under the nation's new normal economic status, and China's innovation-driven development is a major strategy.

The fair aims to help integrate all elements of the entrepreneurship environment by inviting representatives from the world's popular entrepreneurial cities, industry leaders, universities and top industry zones and business incubators, and holding forums, trading campaigns and contests.

The event was organized by the government of Chengdu and supported by a number of Chinese ministries.

Overseas guests came from more than 30 countries, representing governments, companies, organizations, industry parks and universities.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between China and the European Union, an EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair was held at the same time, attracting more than 200 delegates from 150 European companies.

A Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit involved Chinese government officials, mayors of overseas entrepreneurship cities, famous entrepreneurs and investors, who discussed the latest trends in how to create an innovation and entrepreneurship-friendly environment.

A China-EU cluster cooperation seminar was also held to celebrate the 40th anniversary.

With themes including coordinated innovation, industry cluster management and interaction mechanisms, the seminar involved government officials, executives of industry parks and experts of technical transfer from both China and the EU.

At an interactive trade fair, innovation achievements that are not yet commercialized were displayed to attract investment.

"Innovation and entrepreneurship have become global issues," said Cai Guofeng, deputy secretary-general of the China Chamber of International Commerce, at the opening ceremony of the fair.

"It has been a consensus among all the world's major economies that innovation is part of their development strategy, and that international cooperation and flow of innovation resources will boost global socioeconomic sustainable development," he said.

Zhang Zhihong, director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of Ministry of Science and Technology, suggested high-tech parks should improve their startup environments and leading companies should integrate resources to help startups connect with the market.

The Chengdu government launched its Venture Tianfu project in early February to encourage innovation, nurture technical personnel and help commercialize achievements by providing financial services.

In the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, 150 equity investment institutions were founded in the first half of this year, with the total number exceeding 500, resulting in combined capital of more than 80 billion yuan ($12.6 billion).

The city is home to 121 business incubators that cover 11.5 million square meters, where startups share infrastructure and resources to grow. It also has a multilevel technical financial service system.

In the first six months of this year, more than 350 billion yuan in new capital was registered in Chengdu, increasing 142 percent from the same period last year. More than 110,000 new companies and nearly 6,000 research institutions and service agencies were registered at the same time.

As a regional hub of technology, trade, finance and transportation in Southwest China, Chengdu has attracted 268 Fortune 500 companies and has 53 universities and 30 State-level research institutions.

It also has 15 foreign consulates that are in operation or about to become operational, the largest number in western China.

Chengdu was ranked third among 100 Chinese cities for entrepreneurial environment, according to research by a department at Tsinghua University. It is also listed as one of the top 10 entrepreneurial cities in China by the Fortune magazine.

Contact the writers through zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/11/2015 page6)