The 2024 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing has become a hotspot for foreign investors looking to deepen their involvement in China’s sci-tech innovation development. At the forum, discussions on the cultivation of unicorn enterprises and the incubation of sci-tech companies took center stage, showcasing the country’s commitment to fostering innovation.
According to Wang Dehua, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, research and development expenditures of companies in the start-up incubator exceeded 90 billion yuan in 2023. This investment has already yielded impressive results, with over 250,000 companies graduating from incubators, and more than 5,000 of them becoming listed companies. Wang also highlighted that a quarter of the companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board have graduated from incubators.
In 2023, the number of entrepreneurial teams in China reached 700,000, creating 4.9 million jobs and generating over 1.1 trillion yuan in revenue for incubated enterprises. This growth has not gone unnoticed by foreign investors, with Daren Howell from Springer Nature Research Intelligence noting that the China market is increasingly attractive for foreign investment.
Vladimir Norov, chairman of the Central Asian Association for Artificial Intelligence, praised China’s achievements in modernizing its economy and leading in technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cloud computing, and robotics. He emphasized the importance of commercializing these technologies to attract more foreign investment and benefit other countries.
The Steinbeis Foundation, a prominent sci-tech innovation service institution in Europe, is actively seeking opportunities to invest in the China market. Johann Löhn, former president of the foundation, highlighted Beijing’s emergence as a global hub for high technologies like AI and robotics, making it a prime location for investment.
Li Daokui, director of Tsinghua University’s Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking, emphasized China’s favorable conditions for the development of unicorn companies, including high capital stock, significant research and development investment, and a supportive policy environment. With the continued support of both domestic and foreign investors, China’s sci-tech innovation sector is poised for further growth and success.