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Switzerland Opens Expo Pavilion

by swisscham in News

The Swiss National Pavilion, with its “LiveMap” concept especially designed for the China International Import Expo, was unveiled on Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center Shanghai. Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, and Swiss Ambassador to China Jean-Jacques de Dardel, who are leading a high-level delegation to the trade fair, are at the opening. A distinctive feature of the two-story pavilion is the aerial “LiveMap” giving visitors the opportunity to visit Switzerland in virtual reality and physical space. Visitors can not only enjoy basic geographic icons, tourist destinations, cultural and traditional symbols and innovative commercial features but also experience Swiss culinary specialities while using the map. Swiss companies and partners at the pavilion are demonstrating their latest products and services with a number of interactive events and designs. In a “relaxation zone,” visitors can rest in a natural environment that resembles a Swiss alpine meadow. Covering a wide range of fields from cleantech to pharmaceuticals, finance, watches and logistics, and represented by 23 companies and institutional partners, the pavilion demonstrates Switzerland’s global leadership in innovation, culture and tourism in a highly sensory way and allows visitors to get closer to the country with virtual reality.

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Switzerland Heads Again the Ranking of the Most Innovative Countries

by eggplant in News

China broke into the world’s top 20 most-innovative economies as Switzerland retained its number-one spot in the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Now in its 11th edition, the Global Innovation Index (GII) is a detailed quantitative tool that helps global decision makers better understand how to stimulate the innovative activity that drives ecomomic and human development. The GII ranks 126 economies based on 80 indicators, ranging from intellectual property filing rates to mobile-application creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications.

Eleven of the top 20 innovating economies come from Europe, including the top three: Switzerland (1st), the Netherlands (2nd), and Sweden (3rd). Switzerland earns the top position in the GII for the eighth consecutive year. It ranked first in various patent and IP-related indicators, as well as second in high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing production. It is among global leaders in R&D spending and quality of local universities.

Switzerland is not only mentioned as the new and old number 1. For the new edition the research team took an expanded look at economies that innovate efficiently – translating investments in education, research and R&D expenditures into high-quality innovation outputs. Leaders are Switzerland, Luxembourg, China, the Netherlands, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Malta, Hungary, Germany, and Sweden;

Multipolar innovation
China’s number 17 ranking this year represents a breakthrough for an economy witnessing rapid transformation guided by government policy prioritizing research and development-intensive ingenuity. While the United States fell back to number six in the GII 2018, it is an innovation powerhouse that has produced many of the world’s leading hi-tech firms and life-changing innovations.

“China’s rapid rise reflects a strategic direction set from the top leadership to developing world-class capacity in innovation and to moving the structural basis of the economy to more knowledge-intensive industries that rely on innovation to maintain competitive advantage,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “It heralds the arrival of multipolar innovation”.

The Top 20

  1. Switzerland (number 1 in 2017)
  2. Netherlands (3)
  3. Sweden (2)
  4. United Kingdom (5)
  5. Singapore (7)
  6. United States of America (4)
  7. Finland (8)
  8. Denmark (6)
  9. Germany (9)
  10. Ireland (10)
  11. Israel (17)
  12. Korea, Republic of (11)
  13. Japan (14)
  14. Hong Kong (China) (16)
  15. Luxembourg (12)
  16. France (15)
  17. China (22)
  18. Canada (18)
  19. Norway (19)
  20. Australia (23)
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Xi Vows Clean, Beautiful World

by eggplant in News

President Xi Jinping has extended his greetings to the opening of the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2018, which opened on Saturday in the capital of southwestern China’s Guizhou province.

“Ecological conservation concerns the future of the mankind, and it’s the common goal of all nations to build a green home,” Xi said in a congratulatory letter to the forum.

“China highly values ecological and environmental protection,” the president said. “Guided by the conviction that clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, the country advocates harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and sticks to the path of green and sustainable development.”

Xi said he believed that the annual conference – this year themed “Embracing a new era of eco-civilization: green development with high priority to ecology” – would help all parties strengthen consensus and cooperation for the development of global ecological civilization.

“China is ready to work with the international community to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and build a clean, beautiful world,” Xi said in his letter.

This year’s conference gathered more than 2,400 participants, including international guests from over 30 countries and regions and involving almost all the top international organizations specialized in environment protection and green development.

The three-day conference includes seven summits, 10 themed forums, five international workshops and international consultation sessions, as well as some featured activities. Besides inviting international stakeholders, the eco forum has made international exchange and cooperation key parts of its agenda.

The Sino-Swiss Dialogue, held annually since 2014, brought together guests from both countries for in-depth conversations in fields like technological innovation.

“For a long time, Switzerland has paid attention to the relationship between development and environment, and found a successful path of green development for an inland mountainous country like itself. Guizhou should learn from its experience,” said Lu Yongzheng, vice-governor of Guizhou.

Lu said the dialogue is meaningful not only in exchanging experiences and concepts, but in offering an opportunity to strengthen mutual cooperation between them.

Xi’s letter has drawn wide and positive responses from conference participants and the public.

Olafur Grimsson, former president of Iceland, said at the forum he is impressed with China’s recent commitment to green development. “In the past, we were not used to looking at China as a leading country in sustainable development, green development and clean energy. But all of those are becoming a reality right now,” he told the forum.

Xiao Yongxian, a plum farm operator from Shi’erpan village in the Yanhe Tujia autonomous county in Guizhou, said the environment is the most equitable public goods and the most universal benefit for people.

Li Gelin, director of the poverty alleviation office from Leishan county in Guizhou, said concepts like “clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and “ecological environment should be protected like our own eyes” have been widely accepted by both the local government and residents.

“Our county’s ‘all-for-one tourism’ has witnessed healthy and proud development thanks to our good ecological environment,” Li said.

Over the past years, Guizhou has become a good example of combining ecological civilization construction with economic development, experts agreed at a sub-forum about ecological civilization and poverty elimination on Saturday.

Guizhou, which began with its ecological civilization construction efforts in 2007, has seen its GDP rise to 1.35 trillion yuan from 280 billion yuan ($203.35 billion from $42.17 billion) in 10 years. Its green economy accounted for 37 percent of its total GDP last year.

Guizhou province, along with Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, was approved by the central government to build an “ecological civilization pioneer zone” in 2016, and has since become a comprehensive experimental field for reforms relevant to ecological civilization.

At the beginning of this month, Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou was added to the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites. So far, the province has four UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites, the most of any Chinese province.

Gao Peiyong, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said some underdeveloped and remote areas like Guizhou usually have rich ecological resources, and they should take full advantage of their potentials to help reduce poverty.

Contact the writers at liuxiangrui@chinadaily.com.cn

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Geneva Chamber of Commerce partners with SRCIC to consolidate ties under B&R

by eggplant in News

5 July, 2018, Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services signed a strategic partnership MoU Thursday in Shanghai with Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC) for enhancing economic and innovative cooperation. Both parties agreed to forge a partnership to boost development in countries along the Belt and Road.

Mr. Vincent Subilia, deputy director-general of the Geneva Chamber, said the agreement would feature a robust catalyst for growth to benefit the chamber members. “Geneva’ s and Swiss’ companies would play a more active role in the Belt and Road Initiative,” Subilia added.

Ms. Tian Xiaohong, deputy secretary-general of SRCIC, said Geneva not only embraced many companies in high-end industries but gathered resources from all over the world as an important international city.

The MoU was one of several agreements signed during a 10-day visit to China by a Geneva business delegation composed of government officials and entrepreneurs.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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Major Chinese Bank Opens Branch in Zurich

by eggplant in News

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has opened a branch in Zurich, making it the second major Chinese bank after China Construction Bank to establish a presence in the Zurich financial centre.

The branch of Industrial and Commerce Bank of China (ICBC) was officially opened in Zurich on Thursday evening. In addition to ICBC president Shu Gu and a representative from the China Embassy in Switzerland, Peizhong Chen, other dignitaries to attend the opening included Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and Swiss National Bank president Thomas Jordan.

The business development unit of the Office for Economy and Labour at the Canton of Zurich assisted the bank in establishing its new branch. The move “strengthens the importance of the Zurich financial centre and is a further highlight of the canton’s commitment to promoting trade relations with China,” said Carmen Walker Späh, Head of the Department for Economic Affairs.

ICBC is the largest and highest valued bank in the world with over 450,000 employees. The Swiss ICBC branch will be headed by Peichen Chen, who previously served as vice chairman of the bank’s operations in Pakistan.

After China Construction Bank (CCB), ICBC is the second Chinese financial institution to establish itself in the Greater Zurich Area. CCB opened a branch in Zurich in October 2015, where it now has around 33 employees.

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