Remarks by Ambassador Luo Zhaohui at the 2nd China-India Technology Transfer, Collaborative Innovation & Investment Conference
(November 16th, 2017)

Shri Rajeev Shukla, Member of Rajya Sabha, Chairman of India China Trade Centre,
Shri S. N. Tripathy, Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor of Ministry of Agriculture,
Dr. Anup Chandra Pandey, Commissioner of Infrastructure and Industrial Development Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh,
Mr. Hou Shuqian, Head of the Chinese delegation, Director General, Yunan Academy of Science and Technology,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to attend this conference, together with friends from the Chinese and Indian governments as well as sectors of technology, innovation and investment to promote cooperation and exchanges between China and India. This conference serves as a platform for exchanges between China and India’s technology and industry communities. It is also a vivid epitome of “Dragon-Elephant Tango” and our win-win cooperation. This conference will contribute significantly to our technology, innovation and investment cooperation, and to the development of China-India relations.
The recently-concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, China has been transitioning from high-speed growth to high-quality development. China has made it clear that innovation is the primary driving force behind development and it is the strategic underpinning for building a modernized economy. We have decided to make China a country of innovators and a scientific and technological powerhouse to better meet people’s aspirations for a better life.
China has been actively exploring social and economic development through technological innovation. In recent years, China put technological innovation at the centre of its overall national development, devoted great energy to implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, and issued policy guidance such as Outline of the National Strategy of Innovation-Driven Development and National Technology Transfer System Program. China has been promoting fundamental research, original innovation and cutting-edge technology breakthrough, facilitating the transfer and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, and creating a sound environment for mass entrepreneurship and innovation. Huge progress has been made in technological innovation. Driven by the innovation strategy, China has made great achievements in science and technology, such as the Tiangong-2 space lab, the deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong, the five-hundred-meter aperture spherical telescope (FAST) Tianyan, the dark matter probe satellite Wukong, and the quantum science satellite Mozi. China’s four great new inventions, the high-speed railway, online shopping, online payment Alipay and sharing bicycles, have established remarkable reputation across the globe.
As the world’s largest developing countries, China and India share many similarities in development stage, population size and the demand to improve people’s well-being. We have many common goals in technological innovation, and are highly adaptive to and compatible with each other in technology transfer. Over the past years, China and India has made solid progress in technology, innovation and investment cooperation. The two countries have carried out a number of joint research projects, and witnessed an increase in technology transfers as well as transnational start-up investments. For instance, with technologies from China First Metallurgical Group Co., Ltd, Bhilai Steel Plant of Steel Authority of India managed to save 10% of its costs. Many Chinese venture capitals have invested in Indian Internet companies such as Paytm. A Chinese company has just set up an internet startup incubator called “Zhudao Lab” in Gurgaon. Competitive Indian enterprises in IT, pharmacy and consultancy like Infosys and TATA have also entered Chinese market. In the Sino-Indian Software Industry Park in Linyi city, Shandong province, more than a hundred Indian software engineers work together with their Chinese counterparts. They help and learn from each other, and jointly start their businesses.
China is now striving to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and a great modern socialist country. India is pressing ahead with “New India” and is making great efforts to implement its own national strategies such as “Make in India”, “Startup India”, “Digital India” and “Smart Cities”. During this new historical era and in the midst of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, the “Chinese Dream” and the “New India” create broad potential for cooperation. China-India technology and innovation cooperation has a bright future. A lot more could be done. With this in mind, we stand ready to work with India in the following aspects:
First, we need to establish innovation cooperation mechanisms. China has established innovation cooperation mechanisms, such as “Innovation Dialogue”, with the United States, the UK, Russia and Israel, etc. Based on the existing China-India Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, the two countries could establish inter-governmental innovation cooperation mechanisms and platforms to plan and guide China-India cooperation in science, technology and innovation in the new era. In technology transfer, we should expedite the establishment of China-India Technology Transfer Centre at the national level.
Second, we need to deepen key-area cooperation. China and India should enhance cooperation in new energy and jointly tackle climate change by developing new and renewable energy projects such as solar power and electric vehicles. We should strengthen cooperation in environmental protection technologies, and jointly development technologies in haze treatment and the prevention and control of water pollution. We should strengthen cooperation in agricultural science and technology, and support each other in the development of hybrid rice and ecological agriculture. China has achieved significantly in the cultivation of hybrid rice. A team led by the famous “Father of Hybrid Rice” Yuan Longping has created another world record this year, with per hectare yield of single-cropping rice reaching more than 17 tons. We should strengthen internet and ICT cooperation. Chinese companies like Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent are working with Reliance, Paytm, Flipkart and other Indian companies to carry out many cooperation projects. We should strengthen AI technology cooperation, jointly seize the opportunities presented by the new round of AI scientific and technological revolution and tackle its challenges. We should enhance cooperation in traditional medicine. The traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda are treasures of China and India respectively. We should jointly revitalize our traditional medicine by means of modern science and technology, and make greater contribution to mankind. We should enhance cooperation in science and technology finance and ensure that venture capitals can better serve innovation-driven companies in both countries. China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange are in talks with each other for the establishment of Sino-India Innovative Capital Alliance and Sino-India Innovative Enterprise Service Platform supported by governments and with innovation enterprises and financial service sector as leading actors.
Third, we need to promote exchanges between scientists and engineers. In particular, we should increase exchanges between young scientists on a larger, more regular and institutionalized basis.
Fourth, we need to enhance cooperation in the research and sharing of policies and theories of technological innovation. China and India are actively exploring respective paths to become a rich and strong country through technological innovation. Both countries have undertaken many studies and practices in advancing innovation and entrepreneurship, the building of smart cities, as well as in green and coordinated development. The two sides can share their development philosophies, policies and experiences, engage in mutual learning, draw on each other’s merits in a bid to achieve common development.
To conclude, I wish this conference a great success. Thank you!
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