HKPC and Zhongguancun Established the Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre and Signed Agreement for R&D Cooperation with Four Zhongguancun High-tech Enterprises Marking a New Milestone for Beijing-Hong Kong Collaboration in Innovation and Technology

(Hong Kong, 25 September 2024) The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and the Zhongguancun Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Innovation Centre (the Youth Innovation Centre) jointly established the Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre on Saturday (21 September), at the Forum on Creating the Future Technology Innovation Cooperation in Beijing and Hong Kong through “Intelligence", held in Beijing during the 27th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium (the Symposium). Also at the Forum, the Acceleration Centre signed agreements for R&D cooperation with four Zhongguancun startups, marking a solid step forward in deepening the cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong in innovation and technology (I&T).

The Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre will be located at the HKPC Building, serving to harness the strengths of the HKPC and the Youth Innovation Centre, to attract top-notch enterprises, research and development (R&D) resources and talent from Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macao to engage in joint R&D in areas such as smart living, aerospace technology, and life sciences. Leveraging HKPC's leading capabilities in I&T, the Acceleration Centre will drive the development of core technologies in key fields and the commercialisation of research outcomes, enhancing industrial competitiveness.

Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC, said “The establishment of the Acceleration Centre marks another milestone for HKPC to contribute to the country’s I&T development. HKPC has been actively expanding the network of R&D collaboration with research institutions from home and abroad, supporting the development of traditional and emerging industries. I believe the Acceleration Centre will synergise the complementary strengths of Beijing and Hong Kong, foster the practical application of advanced technologies in key fields, promote the transformation and upgrading of industrial and supply chains, and contribute to the country's efforts to become a manufacturing powerhouse."

The first four Zhongguancun startups that signed agreement for R&D cooperation on 21 September with the Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre are Beijing Tashan Technology Co., Ltd, Uisee Technology (Beijing) Ltd, PaleBlueRS (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd, and Casibrain (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. These enterprises focus on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and robotics, autonomous driving, commercial satellite applications and healthcare. Based on existing R&D projects, they will work closely with HKPC in their endeavours to provide better services and products in domestic and overseas markets, accelerate R&D and application of R&D outcomes, and expand the foothold in overseas markets.

Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC, said “I&T is integral to the development of New Productive Forces. HKPC will follow the development strategies set forth by the central government and HKSAR government, such as the “Cooperation Agreement on the Development of New Quality Productive Forces and the Promotion of New Industrialisation” recently signed by the HKSAR government and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. We will lead the Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre to build partnerships with more innovative enterprises. Through collaboration among industry, academia and research institutions, the Acceleration Centre is committed to supporting enterprises to embrace intelligent manufacturing, helping more Mainland enterprises “go global”, fostering the development of New Productive Forces, and driving Hong Kong towards the goal of becoming an International Innovation and Technology Centre.”

Themed “Leveraging mutual strengths, creating prosperity together”, the 27th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium focuses on the advantages and key industrial areas of Beijing and Hong Kong, presenting new opportunities for cooperation between the two cities. The Acceleration Centre was inaugurated by Mr CAO Qingtao, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr ZHANG Youcai, Deputy Director of the Beijing bureau of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ms ZHANG Yulei , Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Administration Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park, Ms Lillian CHEONG Man-lei, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC, Ms Alpha LAU Hai-suen, Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr CHEN Jiaxian, Chief Representative for North China & Northeast China of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr LIU Zhiming , Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of inventions and Mr LUAN Jingliang, Chairman of the Zhongguancun Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Innovation Center. They also witnessed the agreement signing by Mr DU Yonghai, General Manager of Green Living and Innovation Division of HKPC and General Manager of the Automotive Platforms and Application Systems R&D Centre, Mr ZHANG Kai, Deputy General Manager of Zhongguancun Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Innovation Centre as the representatives of the Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre, with Mr MA Yang, General Manager of Beijing Tashan Technology Co., Ltd, Mr WU Gansha, Chairman of Uisee Technology (Beijing) Ltd, Mr YU Jian, Director of Research and Development of PaleBlueRS (Beijing) Technology Co. Ltd, and Ms LI Zhihui, Deputy General Manager of Casibrain (Beijing) Technology Co. Ltd.

Looking ahead, HKPC and Zhongguancun will continue to deepen I&T cooperation between Hong Kong and Beijing, providing all-round support to enterprises through advanced technology, FutureSkills training, and government funding schemes, to enhance the innovation capabilities and industrial competitiveness of both cities. The Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre strives to support more technology enterprises that will make best use of Beijing and Hong Kong’s strengths, to take “Made-in China” and “Made-in-Hong Kong” to gain international prestige.

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Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC, said that the establishment of “Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre” marks another milestone for HKPC to contribute to the country’s I&T development. The Acceleration Centre signed agreements for R&D cooperation with four Zhongguancun startups, marking a solid step forward in deepening the cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong in I&T.

The Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Zhongguancun Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Innovation Centre have established the “Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre” on 21 September in Beijing. The Acceleration Centre will be located at the HKPC Building, serving to harness the strengths of the HKPC and Zhongguancun, promote the transformation and upgrading of industrial and supply chains, and contribute to the country's efforts to become a manufacturing powerhouse.

Witnessed by Mr CAO Qingtao, Deputy Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (middle in the back row), Mr ZHANG Youcai, Deputy Director of Beijing Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (fourth from right in the back row), Ms ZHANG Yulei, Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Administration Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park (fourth from left in the back row), Ms Lillian CHEONG Man-lei, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government(third from right in the back row), Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC (second from right in the back row), Ms Alpha LAU Hai-suen, Director-General of Investment Promotion (third from left in the back row), Mr CHEN Jiaxian, Chief Representative for North China & Northeast China of The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (second from left in the back row), Mr LIU Zhiming, Deputy Secretary of China Association of inventions (first from left in the back row) and Mr LUAN Jingliang, Chairman of the Youth Innovation Center (first from right in the front row)，the agreement was signed by Mr DU Yonghai, General Manager of Green Living and Innovation Division of HKPC and General Manager of the Automotive Platforms and Application Systems R&D Centre (second from right in the front row), and Mr ZHANG Kai, Deputy General Manager of Zhongguancun Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Innovation Centre (second from left in the front row) as the representatives of the “Beijing-Hong Kong R&D Acceleration Centre” , with Mr MA Yang, General Manager of Beijing Tashan Technology Co. Ltd (first from right in the front row in Photo 3), Mr WU Gansha, Chairman of Uisee Technology (Beijing) Ltd (first from left in the front row in Photo 3), Mr YU Jian, Director of Research and Development of PaleBlueRS (Beijing) Technology Co. Ltd (first from left in the front row in Photo 4), and Ms LI Zhihui, Deputy General Manager of Casibrain (Beijing) Technology Co. Ltd. (first from right in the front row in Photo 4).