High-tech industry gears up for annual CHTF event

A remote-controlled drone displays at the 16th China Hi-tech Fair, Shenzhen, Guangdong province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

This year, more than 100 maker projects, spaces and supply chains will participate in the fair and will show their projects in the 1,000-square-meter exhibition space on the second floor of Hall Five in the exhibition center.

A 3-D Shenzhen market map displays the history of Shenzhen maker groups－from conception to production. It also shows the current development environment for incubators, communication events and training.

Selected representatives from the Maker Institute by the China Academy of Science, Shenzhen-Hong E-hub in Qianhai and other platforms will illustrate Shenzhen's maker culture.

These makers will also be able to find potential clients, business partners, suppliers, investors and service providers for product design, branding and manufacturing.

This year, CHTF will also launch a "Startup Weekend" road show, covering smart homes, open source hardware, 3-D printing, sports, education and consumer electronics, which has attracted several makers and their projects from home and abroad.

In addition, the Startup Weekend will choose 16 to 20 projects that cover smart hardware, mobile Internet, wearable devices, smart homes and Internet plus to compete for the Maker of CHTF－Academy Award.

The fair invited 45 university maker teams from Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other major cities in China to present their latest innovations.

As well as the exhibition, startup pioneers and industry experts will also share their insights about the development opportunities in the high-tech industry in the era of mass entrepreneurship and innovation at a summit on Nov 17.

One of the speakers is Wang Xiang, senior vice-president of Xiaomi Corp, a 5-year-old startup that has developed into the world's third-largest smartphone maker.

Dubbed "China's Silicon Valley", Shenzhen has been stepping up efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. The government has set up a special 200-million-yuan fund to develop entrepreneurship, with the aim of nurturing a further 30,000 makers, 50 maker spaces and 10 service platforms for makers each year.

The city government has raised the maximum amount for loans to budding entrepreneurs to 200,000 yuan from 100,000 yuan.

Shenzhen's environment for innovation and entrepreneurship is the most favorable of all mainland cities, excluding the four municipalities, according to an annual survey published in September by Tsinghua University's TusPark Research Institute for Innovation.