Han trumpets Shanghai’s assets on his goodwill mission to Europe
Print Edition
Shanghai’s future landscape envisions the city as an international hub for innovation in science and technology. It was a message Shanghai Party Secretary Han Zheng proudly carried on a European tour to major industrialized nations this month.
It was a trip to promote opportunities in Shanghai and to do some fact-finding on how developed countries are implementing their own innovation programs.
“We hope Shanghai will become a city where innovation takes place everywhere, all the time,” Han said in a video clip shared with local entrepreneurs, scientists, students, innovators and lawyers last month.
Municipal leaders are keen to foster the financing and facilities needed for innovators to turn clever ideas into commercial application. It’s all about recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses – building on the former and redressing the latter.
In Belgium, Han visited the headquarters of chemical group Solvay, a company that generated 10.2 billion euros in net sales in 2014.
The company serves global markets, ranging from energy and the environment to automotive and aerospace. All units place a high premium on innovation.
Materials from Solvay were used in the world’s first around-the-world solar-powered flight, which earlier stopped in two Chinese cities.
Solvay operates key businesses in Shanghai. Representatives from the company shared with the Shanghai delegation their thoughts on the city’s innovation development goals.
In Switzerland, Han held talks with renowned physicist Samuel Ting, a Chinese-American who won the Nobel Prize in 1976.
Ting is currently the principal investigator for the US$1.5 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment, which was installed on the International Space Station.
Ting told Han that the driving force behind science is the ability of those in the minority to challenge the existing orthodoxy of the majority.
Exploring a new field can be desirous, but it’s not always easy. Mistakes that occur from stubborn ambition to be the first or the newest can be detrimental if a person is not scientific and disciplined.
Shanghai, therefore, must provide platforms that tolerate failures as well as reward successes. The government always needs to balance the development of entrepreneurship and new market needs.
Innovation does not mean discarding what is old. Solvay is an example. It has been in business since 1863 and has built on its old but solid foundations.
Such was the case with many major European industrial groups whose top managers held talks with Han during the visit. Some very old brands are still modern-day industrial leaders, such as Germany’s Siemens and Volkswagen.
In Germany, Han attended the signing ceremonies for several projects by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co, a state-owned heavy-duty equipment manufacturer.
Han said his delegation wanted to introduce and promote some of the best practices and innovations from Chinese companies. At the same time, he sought advice on how older companies can be revived and modernized.
Shang Gong Group Co, formerly the Shanghai Industrial Sewing Machine Factory, invited Han and his delegation to visit its plant in Germany, which was acquired in a 200 million yuan (US$32 million) transaction.
The company once produced the popular Butterfly brand sewing machine. After years of restructuring and diversification, the company currently operates 15 overseas subsidiaries.
Han said the story of Shang Gong sets an example for China’s state-owned companies to rise to the demands of the modern era by raising efficiency and becoming more market-oriented.
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