Europe’s innovations, China’s Capital

At a recent event held in London, ten start-ups were pitching their ideas for seed funding. This in itself is nothing out of the ordinary, as innumerable pitches by entrepreneurs are made every day across the world, especially these days, when start-ups are the new norm. But what makes this story more special is that these ten companies were showcasing their innovations to a group of Chinese investors. In his opening speech, Sun Wangsong, Deputy Director of China’s Investment Promotion Agency of Ministry of Commerce, mentioned that China is proactively turning itself from the “world’s factory” to a the creator of innovations-driven ideas. While we acknowledge the fact that investment has become a new credo, we find that despite a tremendous amount of capital being poured into R&D, the country has not been getting the results at the pace that it longed for. So, to accelerate this process, China has started to shop for new innovations abroad.