Guangzhou, China's Emerging Innovation and Startup Center Drawing the World's Attention

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GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As China is accelerating the pace of the renewed technology and industry amid increasing globalization, Guangzhou, south China's biggest city and the trail blazer to reform and open up, is facilitating the development of emerging industries as the new generation of information technology, artificial intelligence and bio-medicine, or IAB, as well as new energy and materials (NEM).The move is expected to transform the city into a land of opportunities and attract entrepreneurs from around the world.

2017 Fortune Global Forum will be held in Guangzhou from December 6 to 8 this year. For now, 138 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders have confirmed to attend the event and the total number of Fortune Global 500 companies present at the event is expected to reach over 200. On September 21, a promotion road show for Guangzhou in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, along with Fortune China Innovation Dinner, will be jointly hosted by the organizer of the Forum and Guangzhou Municipal Government. The international exchanges will cluster topics on China and pool Guangzhou's wisdom in the leading to the Fortune Global Forum and the Brainstorm TECH International.

Similar to San Francisco's world famous high-tech center Silicon Valley, Guangzhou also boasts an agreeable environment, inclusive culture and transport services including world-class ports and a favorable key position as a part of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. "Guangzhou is the best practice of the Fourth Industrial Revolution," said Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

The city plans to build into a global hub for technological innovation, unleashing more vitality for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. "Guangzhou has 83 higher education institutions and 140,000 technology enterprises. Over 11,000 businesses are nurtured by various incubators and group innovation space (GIS). A daily average of 386 new enterprises are registered in Guangzhou and five of them are foreign-owned," noted Gong Hongwu, Director General of Guangzhou Science, Technology and Innovation Commission.

"Going Global" is an essential move for Guangzhou to develop into international hub city. Since March this year, the city has set up overseas offices in cities and regions leading in science, technology and innovation, such as Silicon Valley, Boston in the US and Israel's Tel Aviv. The effort is designed to increase exchanges and cooperation with the European and American countries on technological achievements, innovative projects and talents. This April the city's Guangzhou Automobile Group, one of the Fortune Global 500, established a R&D center in the Silicon Valley. The center will focus on research and development involving new energy, new materials, advanced parts and electronic equipment in a way to keep pace with an ever-changing landscape of these globally-connected industries.

In the beginning of this year, it took only 50 days to negotiate a location for a USD 8.8 billion Foxconn factory in Guangzhou, showcasing the "Chinese Efficiency" that is present due to a more market-oriented and law-based international modern business environment.

In June, the 800-million-USD-worth biotech park, jointly invested by General Electric Company and Guangzhou Development District was launched in Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City. Moreover, the intelligent-manufacturing-centered project of CISCO (Guangzhou) Smart City started operation, drawing some 30 companies to Guangzhou, annual production value anticipating more than RMB 100 billion.

All these cases on Guangzhou's "Bringing In" approach showcase that the city is creating an enabling business environment for Fortune Global 500 companies and internationally advanced scientific research institutions to settle down for the future.