On April 29th, “2019 China Nanjing Tech Week and China-UK Technology Achievements Transfer Centre Launch Event”, which was hosted by the Management Committee of Nanjing Gulou High-tech Zone in China and the People's Government of Nanjing Gulou District, organized by CENTI Group, supported by the National Technology Transfer Eastern Center London Branch, held in the City of London. Mr Sunan Jiang, Minister Counselor for Science and Technology at Chinese Embassy, Mr Wei Wu, District Mayor of Nanjing Gulou District People’s Governmentand Mr Bing Zhou, the vice director of the Management Committee of Nanjing Gulou High-tech Zone, were invited to attend the promotion event.
Mr Sunan Jiang, Minister Counselor for Science and Technology at the Chinese Embassy, firstly gave an opening speech and analyzed the development trend of science and technology in China and Britain in recent years. He stated that Sino-UK cooperation in science and technology could regard the two landmark cities of Nanjing and London as a starting point and progress to expand across Europe. At the same time, the Science and Technology Department of the Chinese Embassy in the UK will give full play to the role of bridges and promote more in-depth cooperation in technology exchange of advantageous industries between China and the UK, even China and the EU.
At the promotion meeting, Mr Wei Wu, District Mayor of Nanjing Gulou District People’s Government, briefly introduced the educational resources of Nanjing Gulou District, the advantages of new industries, and the cases of technological innovations such as “Graphene Research Institute” established by the British Nobel Prize winners and their teams in Nanjing and “Cambridge University Nanjing Science and Technology Innovation Centre”. He hopes that this promotion will be an opportunity to further deepen the innovation cooperation between Nanjing and London and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. At the same time, he also promoted the theme of Nanjing Tech Week with the theme of “Innovation of Nanjing, Unlimited Opportunity” in June. He hopes to attract overseas talents through a series of activities and gather resources to further explore the innovation potential of Nanjing and promote the development of regional sustainable cities.
Ms Yahong Ni, Director of Commercial Bureau of Nanjing Gulou District, gave a brief introduction to the investment environment of Nanjing Gulou District, and described that Gulou district as the demonstration and benchmarking area of Nanjing Economic and Culture, the outstanding achievements of priority developments such as software network, technology service industry and financial industry in this district recent years. At the same time, she elaborated on the technology service policies and invited British technology companies to cooperate with Nanjing, so as to create a high-quality industrial environment in Gulou District.
Mr Jacques Zhao, Representative Director of Jiangsu Economic and Trade Representative Office in the UK, John Zai, Director of National Eastern Tech - Transfer Centre London Office Founder and CEO of CENTI Group, Simon Spier, Head of International Trade at tech UK, Mark Hedley, Regional Director, Greater London, and Tech Sector Lead at China- Britain Business Council (CBBC) and Mr Bing Zhou, the vice director of the Management Committee of Nanjing Gulou High-tech Zone also shared the experience of Chinese and English technology transfer at the event. They elaborated on the broad prospects for cooperation between China and the UK in the fields of artificial intelligence, Internet of things, and financial technology under the new historical starting point of the “Belt and Road”.
Under the witness of Mr Sunan Jiang, Minister Counselor for Science & Technology at Chinese Embassy and other guests, Nanjing Gulou High-tech Zone signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CENTI Group. Mr Sunan Jiang and Mr Wei Wu unveiled the China-UK Technology Achievements Transfer Centre, and jointly expressed their vision for the future development of the centre.
Lastly Mr John Zai hosted a panel on “How Can We Achieve Better Development and Cooperation Between Nanjing and London” and invited Mr Bing Zhou, the vice director of the Management Committee of Nanjing Gulou High-tech Zone, Russ Shaw, Global Tech Advocates founder, Julian David, tech UK CEO, and Mark Hedley, Regional Director, Greater London, and Tech Sector Lead at China-Britain Business Council (CBBC). A group of Chinese and European science and technology entrepreneurs and industry experts took part in the panel. During the panel, they discussed the potential opportunities for the cooperation between London and Nanjing in science and technology, the mutual benefit point, and the results of the long-term cooperation model. They also combined the resource advantages of the technology enterprises in China and the UK to develop future technology and made a bold prediction. The guests agreed that the golden age of technology and innovation in the two countries has already started. There will be more and more cities in China, the UK and China, seeking opportunities in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. With a form of cooperation in which resources and advantages are mutually complementary, we will build a good ecosystem of mutual benefit and common development.
The conference improved Nanjing's international technology transformation capability and created a platform for borderless exchanges in the fields of science and technology transformation. As an opportunity of the Sino-British science and technology innovation cooperation strategy, the promotion will further deepen the scientific research cooperation between Nanjing Gulou High-tech Zone and London, and use the strong power of technological innovation to drive the common development among cities and promote the two sides to jointly meet global challenges.