As the premier sci-tech innovation and entrepreneurship competition in China, renowned for its high standards, large scale, superior quality, and extensive influence, the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition has nurtured numerous innovative enterprises and outstanding projects with core competitiveness. It has contributed significantly to advancing China’s sci-tech innovation and industrial upgrading. The newly established China-ASEAN Specialized Event this year, leveraging Guangxi’s strategic position as an open front towards ASEAN, aims to promote technology transfer, achievement commercialization, and industrial collaboration between China and ASEAN.
Since its launch in September, the event attracted enthusiastic participation from over 130 high-quality projects nationwide. Competing projects focused on three key tracks, namely new generation information technology, biomedicine, and new materials, showcasing cutting-edge industry trends and robust technological capabilities.
After preliminary rounds, 30 outstanding projects, recognized for their innovation and potential for China-ASEAN cooperation and industrialization, advanced to the final stage to compete for top honors. The finals adopted an “on-site defense, immediate score disclosure” format. Each project had 15 minutes, comprising an 8-minute PPT roadshow and a 7-minute judge Q&A session. Each track’s judging panel consisted of five senior investment experts who provided professional evaluations.
The finals featured a gathering of elite talents and showcased cutting-edge technologies. The new generation information technology track included platform applications serving cross-border cooperation, such as the “ASEAN Premium Product Code” using blockchain for trusted cross-border commodity channels, and the “Cross-border Business Travel Security Assistant” providing comprehensive protection for China-ASEAN travelers. It also featured underlying technological innovations addressing industry bottlenecks, like charging pile testing equipment achieving localized substitution through multi-standard integration, and laser processing robots utilizing aerospace-grade precision manufacturing.
The biomedicine track delivered grassroots benefits, such as new ultra-saline-alkali-tolerant rice varieties transforming barren land into “granaries”, and agricultural microbial agents using ASEAN non-grain biomass for green cultivation. It also featured cutting-edge achievements, such as a high-throughput proteomics technology platform supporting precision medicine, and fully automated cell preparation equipment integrated with AI for intelligent cell drug manufacturing.
The new materials track focused on green recycling and cutting-edge breakthroughs, such as converting the industrial by-product fluosilicic acid into high-purity electronic materials, achieving the “transformation of waste into treasure”; and CO2 capture and separation membrane materials that provide efficient solutions for industrial emission reduction. In addressing critical bottleneck constraints, high-performance quantum dot films broke international monopolies through a cadmium-free process, while computing-in-memory chips utilized phase-change materials to achieve dual improvements in both computing power and energy efficiency.
Finally, the first prizes in the three tracks were awarded to: the “Haizhichen, Pangu AI Vision—ASEAN Industrial AI Vision Industry-University-Research Empowerment Platform” project of Qingdao Haizhichen Industrial Equipment Co., Ltd. (New Generation Information Technology); the “AI-based Full-process, Fully Automated, Hive-Modular High-end Complete Cell Preparation Equipment and Cell Drug R&D and Industrialization” project of Yunnan Huayang Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd. (Biomedicine); the “Novel MOFs High-Efficiency CO2 Capture and Separation Membrane Materials” project of Tianjin Hermes Technology Co., Ltd. (New Materials).
During the award ceremony, Nanning Zhongguancun Information Valley Science and Technology Service Co., Ltd. signed agreements with 14 companies intending to establish local operations. These companies included Beijing Gaihe Lepu Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Hanggong Junte Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongyi Technologies Co., Ltd., Shanghai Thaisen Electric Technology Co., Ltd., and Beijing Topsec Education Technology Co., Ltd. This signifies the transition of innovative achievements from the competition arena to industry, with these “sci-tech innovation seeds” taking root in Nanning’s fertile soil.
To further connect innovative achievements with industrial resources, the finals featured dedicated promotion and matchmaking sessions. Li Quan, Deputy Director of the Guangxi ASEAN Technology Transfer Center, systematically introduced the prospects and resources for Guangxi-ASEAN sci-tech cooperation, helping participating enterprises seize ASEAN market opportunities.Wang Jiehui, First-Level Investigator of Nanning New & High-tech Industrial Development Zone, delivered a summary for the event and expressed hope that participating projects would connect more resources to realize the cycle from “innovative idea – resource support – ASEAN implementation”. Li Haiyan, Deputy Director-General of the Investment Promotion Bureau of Nanning New & High-tech Industrial Development Zone, introduced the zone’s industrial ecosystem, business environment, and sci-tech innovation policies. Departments of Nanning New & High-tech Industrial Development Zone and financial institutions held one-on-one meetings with participating enterprises, addressing key issues like policies, markets, financing, and supporting facilities, providing clear pathways and solid support for project implementation.
The successful event vividly demonstrated the concept of “innovation without borders, cooperation for shared future”. It served not only as a “touchstone” and “amplifier” for sci-tech innovation projects but also as a “connector” and “accelerator” for China and ASEAN to share development opportunities and promote industrial upgrading. In the future, more innovative forces are expected to gather via this platform, fostering more cross-border cooperation outcomes and jointly writing a new chapter in China-ASEAN sci-tech innovation cooperation.
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