Technical missions, business groups, SMEs, universities, R&D institutions, industrial experts and government officials from China and Europe gathered in Chengdu last week to seek opportunities and discuss the latest developments in the high-tech industries.

The ninth EU-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair from Oct 21 to 23 welcomed more than 1,000 participants, over half of them from 25 EU member states.

Business delegates from the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, France and other countries joined directors of 15 European State-level chambers of commerce and entrepreneurs from more than 340 enterprises across Europe at the fair. The total number of participating enterprises from China and European countries surpassed 800.

"With the EU-China fair coming to its ninth year, we hope that both sides can develop more cooperation projects," said Tang Jiqiang, director of the development and planning bureau at the Chengdu High-tech Zone, host of the event. Tang said that "there has been a boom in cooperation between China and Europe in recent years".

President Xi Jinping raised the issue of developing an economic zone along the ancient Silk Road. Chengdu, the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province, is covered in the plan.

Earlier this year, President Xi noted the importance of a long-standing and growing relationship between China and Europe.

At the Hamburg Summit in October in Germany, Premier Li Keqiang said China is the largest emerging market in the world and the EU is the largest developed economy.

"Cooperation between the two will definitely make a win-win situation," he said.

Tang said that Chengdu, the most vibrant and innovative city in Southwest China, is ready to lead the way to more cooperative projects with the Europe.

Dai Yiling, CEO of the EU Project Innovation Center in Chengdu - a non-profit organization promoting business cooperation between EU and China - said the fair covered investment and trading projects in new energy and materials, modern agriculture, bio-pharmaceuticals, general aviation, advanced equipment manufacturing and IT.

General aviation

Business groups and administrative departments from Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, France and other countries attended a seminar for general aviation to talk the latest developments and seek investment.

As this year marks the 65th anniversary of Sino-Czech diplomatic ties, a delegation of 200 people led by President Milos Zeman attended the fair, bringing with them three light aircraft.

The delegation also attended meetings with Chengdu High-tech Zone to discuss projects in the general aviation industry.

The high-tech zone signed an agreement in June with the CzechTrade - Czech Republic's trade promotion agency - and the EU Project Innovation Center to explore more cooperation projects of the entire industrial chain in general aviation.

There were also meetings and fairs on the IT sector between authorities from China and EU countries to promote Chengdu in the global market.

Lin Tao, director of Chengdu High-tech Zone's technology bureau, said Chengdu is a national demonstration city for intellectual property development and protection.

Business matchmaking

Another highlight of the event was the business matchmaking fair on Oct 23.

As an example, unmanned aircraft produced by Chengdu Timlo Science & Technology Co has attracted widespread attention. The company received six matchmaking requests from EU companies and organizations.

The delegation from Scottish Development International showed great interest in the company's drones. The delegation from University of Turin approached the company to talk about using its unmanned aircraft in an environment noise assessment project.

As well, 16 delegations representing companies in various European countries met with 31 business delegations from major cities in China.

Tang Jiqiang from the Chengdu High-tech Zone said not only businesses from Chengdu benefited from the fair as those from around the country also sealed deals with counterparts from the EU.

Tang said that the Chengdu High-tech Zone has successfully used the previous eight fairs to promote its opening up.

"A larger cooperative plan with European countries has just hit the road, which will contribute to the nation's opening-up endeavors," said Tang.

More exchanges

Trade fairs are not the only form for business interaction between Chengdu and EU countries. In June, 60 enterprises from the Chengdu High-tech Zone visited industrial parks and companies in the emerging fields of science and renewable energy in Belgium, the Czech Republic and Germany.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Sino-French diplomatic ties and also the 33rd anniversary of the sister relationship between Chengdu and French city Montpellier. During the EU-China fair, a range of cultural events were held to celebrate the anniversaries.

With approval from the European Commission, the Enterprise Europe Network West China program started at the Chengdu High-tech Zone in 2011. It provides online trade-matching services for 10 provinces and regions in western China with a database covering more than 600 business organizations and over 1 million enterprises in 54 countries and regions. To date, some 530 corporate users from China have registered on the website that has now helped some 1,200 enterprises from the two sides seal deals.

fuchao@chinadaily.com.cn

Business matching was a highlight of the EU-China fair that opened on Oct 23. Photos Provided to China Daily

A business representative from Europe talks with Chinese counterparts on possible cooperation.

(China Daily 10/28/2014 page18)