Working together to tackle urban challenges: MoU signed between Innovate UK and Guangdong

Guangdong Province is China’s largest provincial economy and the principal driver of the national economy over the last 30 years. Under China’s innovation-driven development strategy, Guangdong is positioned as China’s Innovation Centre for Science and Technology Industry, with special focus on industrial development and technology transfer. Companies in Guangdong employ more R&D personnel than any other province in China.
This makes Guangdong a key science and innovation partner for the UK, and this month SIN facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province and Innovate UK for co-operation on industrial research and development. The signing ceremony took place in London on 14th June and was witnessed by Mr Hu Chunhua, Party Secretary of the Guangdong Province, Mr Xiaoming Liu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the UK, Lord Sassoon, Kt, Executive Director of CBBC and Mr Matthew Rous, Consul General of British Consulate General Guangzhou.

The partners formally agreed to support industrial R&D between UK and Chinese businesses on the use of innovative solutions to address urbanisation challenges such as transportation, affordable healthcare and sustainable environment etc. A Partnership Building Visit to Guangdong and two business matching workshops was held last week in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Guangdong has been working closely with the UK in science and innovation in recent years through the facilitation of SIN Guangzhou, particularly in basic research, technology transfer and joint innovation platforms covering a wide range of areas such as smart grids, supercomputing, , environmental science, translational medicine, and a birth cohort study.

Our small but efficient SIN team in Guangzhou continues to explore and pursue opportunities for UK stakeholders and works directly with business, and top academic institutions in both countries. We recognise the importance of science and innovation to the bilateral relationship, and the UK’s openness to partnership is vital to this. This compliments our wider work to ensure the UK continues to be seen as a knowledge leader and world force in science and education.