Premier lauds innovation at tech exhibition

China's economy has resilience and is running on a sound and smooth track, Premier Li Keqiang said on June 13, adding that innovation and entrepreneurship serve as "important pillars" for the Chinese economy to withstand downward pressure and maintain growth momentum over the long run.

Premier Li made the remarks at the opening ceremony for the 2019 National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

He also called for governments at all levels to create a good environment to enable entrepreneurs to start and operate their businesses in a fair market, thus realizing market prosperity and high-quality economic development.

Various events were held in Hangzhou — the main venue for the innovation week in 2019 — and cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen in Guangdong province on June 13.

Wang Lei, an e-commerce operation director of ForwardX Robotics company in Beijing, said that innovation week provided a precious opportunity for the company to showcase its latest research achievement to the public.

With an aim of launching their new self-moving suitcases in August, Wang said the innovation week made more people aware of their techniques and will help them promote their products soon.

"It's imperative for traditional entrepreneurs like us to transform in an innovative manner," said Zong Qinghou, chairman and CEO of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, in Hangzhou.

"Zhejiang has always been a hub for innovation and startups," he added. "I believe the mass innovation week will play a pivotal role in driving up the province's high-quality economic development in the high-tech sector."

The Ministry of Education on June 13 also announced in Hangzhou the launch of the fifth China College Students' Internet Plus Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, the biggest gathering for innovation projects among universities and colleges in China.

As of June 10, the event had received 772,000 startup projects, with 3.32 million participants nationwide, according to Wu Yan, director of the Department of Higher Education with the ministry.

One distinctive feature for the competition in 2019 is that university and college participants from 100 nations and regions worldwide will be invited to make the student startup event an international one with global influence in a bid to raise its profile on the international stage, he said.

In Shenzhen, a commemorative event was launched at Huaqiang North Street, one of China's best-known electronics hubs.

Garrett Winther, partner at Huaqiang North-headquartered HAX, one of the world's largest and most well-known accelerator programs for hardware startups, said: "Shenzhen's ecosystem of electronics manufacturers, component suppliers, professional logistics services and skilled talent allows startups to build a smart hardware product cost-effectively and faster. "

The Shenzhen venue in 2019 also emphasizes high-quality development of innovation and entrepreneurship. In the High-Quality Co-Create Achievement Exhibition Area, some of the world's latest technologies and inventions were showed, including an artificial intelligence camera, virtual reality surgical guidance platform and customized AI streaming accelerators.

The city so far has established nine Nobel Laureate Labs and more than 2,000 innovation and entrepreneurship platforms, according to the local government.