On Tuesday afternoon, Luxembourg’s Chamber of Commerce hosted an event within the auspices of the Nanjing Techweek @ Luxembourg event, during which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed regarding the Nanjing-Luxembourg Overseas Coordination Innovation Center.

Nanjing, the capital of the Jiangsu province, is located 300km inland from Shanghai and has a 2,600 year history and has a booming tech industry.

Carlo THELEN, Director General of Luxembourg’s Chamber of Commerce, referenced historical links between China and Luxembourg. He mentioned that Luxembourg has attracted seven Chinese banks as well as fund companies, etc., from China, in addition to other industries. He stated “Innovation is the key to success and Luxembourg is a key position”. He referenced the ICT Spring 2-day event which started today in Kirchberg and which addresses sectors including AI, FinTech and Space, with China as Country of Honour. He stated that, in November, Luxembourg will visit China on a trade mission and will try to include Nanjing in that itinerary. He mentioned that Nanjing served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, etc., in the past.

HE Changoing HUANG, the Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg, welcomed the Nanjing delegation and thanked Carlo Thelen and the Chamber of Commerce for hosting the delegation.

Daniel DA CRUZ, Director General for Foreign Trade and Investment Promotion at Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy, was representing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Etienne Schneider, described the economic relations between China and Luxembourg as excellent and referenced AI, space and other sectors offering innovative opportunities for companies from both countries in the future. He described Luxembourg as both efficient and effective, being located in the middle of Europe. He referred to the Belt and Road initiative signed in March 2017. He described Nanjing as a hub that it is innovative and offers ample room for cooperation, with Luxembourg companies going to China to apply their products, with Chinese start-ups being innovative in adopting new ideas. Working hand-in-hand to identify promising projects and promoting exchanges will lead to future collaboration.

Dirk DEWITTE, President of the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the Nanjing delegation and stated that he intends to accept to offer to visit Nanjing in June. He described the itinerary of the delegation being very intensive and thanked all those for helping ensure it were off smoothly. From a cooperation and business development perspective, the business sectors of Nanjing and Luxembourg are similar, with both being innovative with people thinking “out of the box” to see what can be done differently.

The keynote address was presented by HE Zhihong ZHU, Secretary of the Luhe District Party Committee of Nanjing, on “Innovative Nanjing”. He spoke in Chinese, with an interpreter translating into English. He explained the aims of the Nanjing TechWeek in Luxembourg and confirmed that they have built a 1.2 km2 fast-developing high-tech park in Nanjing, on of 15 such initiatives in and around the city, each focussed on different business sectors. He also stated that they have created a good ecological environment for innovation. He concluded by stating that Innovation and Cooperation lead the future.

The event concluded by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Nanjing-Luxembourg Overseas Coordination Innovation Center, before a networking reception for the 75+ attendees present.

Source: Chronicle.lu