Cooperation through innovation
was a consistent message at the
2017 Korea-China Business
Partnering Forum, held on
Feb.23-24 at the K-Hotel in Seoul. As the
economic relationship between Korea and
China continues to bourgeon—most
notably through the recently implemented
FTA—the forum came at a fitting time.
Despite their obvious difference in economic
size, both the Korean and Chinese
governments are actively pushing to generate
activity from emerging sectors like
ICT.
Hosted by the Ministry of Science, ICT
and Future Planning (MSIP) and the
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
(MOTIE), and organized by KOTRA,
Commercializations Promotion Agency
for R&D Outcomes (COMPA) and the
Public Intellectual Property Association
(PIPA), the Korea-China Business
Partnering Forum sought to explore new
business opportunities for promising
Korean companies seeking to enter the
Chinese market, as well as introduce
Chinese investors who want to do business
with Korean enterprises. It also
aimed to build on last year’s accomplishments
made between the two countries,
including the K-Startup Summit in
Beijing, which introduced Korean startups
to Chinese venture capitals and buyers.
Korean participants at this year’s event
included around 50 startups and
30
research universities and technology companies Chinese participants, meanwhile,
were comprised of 40 companies, including
venture capitals and venture accelerators.
Prior to the main program, a mentoring
session for those wanting to know
more about China’s latest technology and
companies, and a session on Korea-China
technological cooperation took place. The
main event offered attendees a wide variety
of programs, as it was divided into
three sessions over the span of two
days—a presentation on successful cases
of Korea-China joint projects, a business
partnering meeting and a seminar on the
commercialization of global technology.
“Amid the slowing global economy,
cooperation between our two countries is
no longer an option but a necessity”¸ said
Yongbum Cho of COMPA during the
first session. “Korea is a world leader in
the fields of ICT,
mobile phones, semiconductors
and biotechnology. If new
projects can arise in these sectors through mutual cooperation, China and Korea will
be able to enjoy great synergy together.”
An official from Huizhou echoed the
notion of cooperation during his presentation.
Huizhou, a city in China’s
Guangdong Province, is being pushed by
the government as the 21st century Silk
Road. The region is transforming into a
smart city and is working with other cities
to carry out a number of policies that promote
science and ICT. Some of Korea’s
largest companies, including Samsung, are doing business in the region and
the
Huizhou local government hopes to work
more closely with Korean partners.
Representatives from Maker Institute,
an international innovation center founded
by Nanshan District and Shenzhen
Institute of Advanced Technology
(SIAT), also attended the forum to talk
about the latest health, robotic and IOT
projects being pushed by the institute.
Maker Institute focuses on the cultivation
and assistance for companies in order to
improve their innovation capability. It
offered a number of suggestions for Korea-
China cooperation, including opening a science or IT competition
for promising startups in both countries.
At the one-on-one partnering event,
Korean startups and research institutes
with highly-advanced technologies held
consultations with Chinese investors.
Over 200 fruitful meetings took place
throughout the event. “I was surprised at
how Korean SMEs possess advanced
technology,” said one investor. “I think
there will be a lot of open roads for them
if they are trying to enter the Chinese market.”
Lee MinHo, KOTRA’s Director
General of Enterprise Export Division,
wrapped up the event, stating, “KOTRA
hopes through this
event, technologies that have yet to be commercialized will become more accessible on a global level. We will provide more opportunities for bilateral cooperation between China and Korea in the future.”
At Korea-China Business Partnering Forum, we had a chance to
interview Sammi Su, Associate Director of Tsinghua Happiness
Technology Lab(H+Lab). Here's what she had to say about the event.
H+Lab is a startup incubator established with a CNY 100 billion joint investment between Tsinghua University and Tus-Holdings, which operates the world’s largest single university science park. H+Lab runs a startup incubating center, and commercializes the research accomplishments of Tsinghua University’s Psychology Department. Currently, we focus on incubating medical and healthcare businesses in China.
Our main focus in China is the medical industry, but our investment interests are not limited to medical fields. In Korea, we are especially interested in all technologies and technical applications that are related to the medical and healthcare industries. For instance, all of the industries that participated in the recent KOTRA event, including electronics, ecommerce, machine manufacturing and medicine, fall under the category of potential targets for investment.
We try to build an ecological environment
in which startups can easily find the
resources and information they need. The
product itself is only a small factor in the
decision process, and by no means the
only factor that influences our decision to
invest. What’s most important in any
business is always its human resources,
and therefore we believe that human
resources and solidarity within the startup
are the key factors in making an investment
decision.
The few cases in which we decided to
invest in Korea had also come out as a result
of seeing such potential in the startups.
It was by chance that we decided to invest in Korea. A colleague of mine had introduced me to KOTRA. The projects at KOTRA met the demands of H+Lab, and upon signing a partnership agreement with the Agency, H+Lab was able to meet with many Korean startups. Although only a few ended up being a right match for H+Lab, we thought the overall quality of Korean startups was very high.
The most effective way to promote innovative exchanges, technological exports, and technical convergences between Korea and China is to establish national science park in each other’s land. Chinese science park in Korea could help Korean companies adapt to the business environment in China, while Korea science park in China could help Chinese companies throughout their development. Because Korean and Chinese businesses have different strengths in terms of startups and innovation, I believe synergy between the two countries can create new opportunities.
I believe the recent event held by KOTRA was highly meaningful. As is the wish of H+Lab, I hope there will be an increase in exchanges between the two countries in science and technology, as well as in investments.
