The 2022 Global Tech-Matching Fair (InnoMatch EXPO) kicked off at Shanghai Exhibition Center on the morning of August 29. Mr. Shao Xinyu, vice minister of Science and Technology, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony via video link. Ms. Liu Duo, vice mayor of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, attended the event and addressed the audience on site.

Mr. Shao Xinyu pointed out that promoting the commercialization of science and technology achievements is key to driving economic growth. All types of innovative entities should be more engaged. Universities and research institutes should set their sights on the global sci-tech frontiers, national economic development, the country’s major needs, and the people’s health and safety, attaching importance to market-oriented applied research. Enterprises should specify their innovation needs, enhance their technological innovation capabilities, and intensify innovative joint efforts among the industry, universities, and research institutes. Technology transfer institutions should build a service system covering the whole technological transfer process, leveraging their expertise. Financial institutions should increase their support for the transformation of sci-tech results.

Ms. Liu Duo emphasized that to build the city into a sci-tech innovation center, Shanghai has made substantial progress in building a global trading platform for technology with the core purpose of meeting enterprises’ tech needs. She hoped that the expo would stay committed to promoting cooperation on innovation, connecting technology with capital, and offering digital support for technology transfer, becoming a hub that pools global resources and leads innovation development.

At the opening ceremony, the 2021 Top Ten Cases of “Collaborative Innovation” by Foreign-Invested Enterprises in Shanghai were announced to encourage further foreign-invested enterprises to collaborate with local universities, research institutions and, enterprises, according to the organizers.

Mr. Song Gang, senior director of manufacturing at Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai, an outstanding case of “collaborative innovation,” said in an interview that Tesla is procuring 95% of its parts locally in China, including some key components like the single-piece rear casts, batteries, and motors. Many of Tesla’s suppliers have become high-value enterprises in the international market with a strong influence and a major say. In March 2021, Tesla was approved as a pilot enterprise – one of the second groups – integrating production and education in Shanghai and was listed in the pool of such enterprises. As Mr. Song Gang pointed out, “Today, China has become the largest producer and consumer of new energy vehicles, which has laid a solid foundation for the sustained growth of this industry. We hope to work together with our Chinese counterparts and jointly contribute to developing a new energy industry and fulfilling China’s ‘dual carbon goals.’”

STCSM signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Siemens and a strategic cooperation agreement with CR Pharma Comm, Lingang Group, and MicroPort. Giving full play to the leading role of those large enterprises, it hopes to boost open innovation, industry-university-research institute cooperation, and collaborative innovation among large, medium, and small enterprises.

The InnoMatch Expo and Shanghai session of the Roadshow on Achievements of National Science and Technology Programs kicked off, showcasing 73 outstanding technological achievements in biomedicine, artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, energy, and environmental protection. Featuring a year-round online exhibition and exchanges on technology transfer, the event attracted more than 600 investment institutions, matching technological achievements with industrial demands and capital at a faster pace.

As an important part of the Pujiang Innovation Forum, the InnoMatch Expo has stayed abreast of the needs of innovation. After three years of development and innovation, this year’s expo features a 3D smart online pavilion, “INNO Cloud,” which brings together online connection, smart building, and virtual customer service. It involves eight industrial clusters, allows collaborative innovation between large, medium, and small enterprises and service organizations, and promotes connection across the industrial chain. It also shares data with the InnoMatch global trading platform for technology and realizes smart matching upon a single click.

Exhibitions fall under seven themes: scientific and technological innovation and development in China, open innovation of large enterprises, innovative products of small and medium enterprises, quality innovative achievements to be commercialized, professional technology transfer services, international and domestic science and technology cooperation, and characteristic industries. The cloud platform attracted 500 enterprises and institutions and released more than 2,000 technology demands. Furthermore, it displayed 500 innovative products and high-tech transformation projects by small and medium enterprises and 600 quality achievements by universities. In addition, more than 30 selected events will be broadcast live, with over 100 industry tycoons and experts sharing their views.

3D Smart Online Pavilion “INNO Cloud”

The event is committed to serving as a “parlor” for innovative network cooperation by exploring multiple models for commercializing science and technology achievements. Based in Shanghai and aiming to influence the Yangtze River Delta and the world, it will promote the market-oriented allocation of technological factors and the integration of technology, talent, and capital.

Guided by the Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST) and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, the expo was organized by MOST’s Department of Achievement Transformation and Regional Innovation and Torch High Technology Industry Development Center and STCSM, and undertaken by the National Eastern Tech-Transfer Center.