CNS, Shanghai, November 6 (Reporters Li Shuzhi and Di Quan) “When we first came to the China International Import Exhibition (CIIE), we wanted to introduce good foreign products to China. Now, we are more eager to innovate together with Chinese companies and bring good products from China to the global market,” said Peng Yang, Global Vice President and President of Greater China at Danaher, during an interview with reporters on the 6th. This shift is closely tied to Danaher’s strategic layout in Pudong.
The parallel session themed “Pudong and the World: Sci-Tech Innovation Drives Industrial Upgrade, Smart Integration Co-creates the Future” of the 9th Hongqiao International Economic Forum was held in Shanghai today. Four entrepreneurs interviewed by China News Service shared, from their respective practices, how sci-tech resources meet in Pudong and how they connect to broader markets.
Peng Yang stated that the concentration of biomedical innovation enterprises in Pudong, along with local policies and industrial ecosystems, has prompted the company to adjust its strategy and deepen local cooperation. Peng introduced that just this July, Danaher invested over 200 million RMB in Jinqiao to relocate and expand its Leica Shanghai R&D and manufacturing base. Currently, Danaher is exploring platform technologies such as gene editing with Chinese enterprises and looking for artificial intelligence pharmaceutical partners in Zhangjiang.
While multinational enterprises are finding innovation partners here, local startup enterprises are leveraging nearby industrial resources to accelerate their pace toward the global market.
Established in Pudong in 2022, Sigenergy combines artificial intelligence with new energy, focusing on fields such as energy storage, photovoltaics, and charging. Xu Yingtong, Chairman and CEO of Sigenergy, noted that the advantage Pudong brings to enterprises is reflected in the upstream and downstream suppliers, artificial intelligence enterprises, and semiconductor component enterprises clustered within a 100-kilometer radius.
This geographical proximity has translated into research and development synergy: component suppliers’ engineers directly co-locate and work jointly in Sigenergy’s laboratories to solve problems and advance R&D together. “This can greatly accelerate the research and development and market launch of new products,” Xu said.
Mutual learning among industries has also brought inspiration to new tracks. Chen Hongyu, Chairman of Shanghai Taiyi Weixing Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., chose to locate his enterprise in Jinqiao, with a key reason being the local automotive industrial foundation. “We hope to borrow, learn from, and apply the standardized production and smart technologies of Jinqiao’s automotive industry to aerospace, so as to build better aerospace products,” Chen said.
From the perspective of helping enterprises with site selection and establishment, Raymond Li, Managing Director of East China for Cushman & Wakefield, observed that in recent years, an increasing number of hard-tech enterprises and projects have clustered in areas such as Zhangjiang and Jinqiao, and some multinational companies have established advanced product and R&D operations in Pudong. He introduced that last year, Cushman & Wakefield provided services for a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical enterprise to establish its presence in Zhangjiang.
Li pointed out that when top global hard-tech enterprises choose locations, their considerations go beyond cost to include the degree of institutional openness, high-end talent resources, the support and quality of industrial carriers, and government service efficiency. The existing industrial foundation and continuously improving innovation ecosystem in Pudong are forming a cumulative effect, attracting more domestic and foreign enterprises.
These innovation collaborations formed in Pudong are also extending overseas. Chen Hongyu introduced that the enterprise is cooperating with the African Disaster Reduction Research Center, utilizing Chinese remote sensing data and artificial intelligence technology to provide disaster prevention and mitigation services for Africa. He hopes to leverage the CIIE window to connect with more international resources.
The needs of enterprises are also the direction for Pudong to continuously improve its innovation services. Wu Jincheng, Head of Pudong New Area, stated at the forum that Pudong will promote the opening and sharing of scientific research infrastructure to global research teams and innovation enterprises, and provide services such as market access, intellectual property rights, and cross-border finance for enterprises “going global.” (End)
