HOUSTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's Jiangsu Province is to establish a biomedical innovation center in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, Liu Qing, President of Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Liu made the remarks on the sideline of the two-day U.S.-China Innovation and Investment Summit, which kicked off in Houston on Monday.
More than 500 participants from China and the United States, including entrepreneurs and investors, are meeting face-to-face in Houston during the conference.
As the honorary guest city of this year's summit, Suzhou, a city in east China's Jiangsu Province, has actively participated in the event, hoping to attract more U.S. entrepreneurs to the city.
In recent years, Suzhou has made great efforts to implement innovation-driven developing strategy and improve the environment of innovation and entrepreneurship.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Liu said Suzhou is very serious about working with Houston in economic growth and development.
Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute, along with the city of Suzhou and Suzhou Innovation Park, plan to establish a China-U.S. Biomedical Innovation Center inside the Texas Medical Center in Houston, providing a platform for the U.S.-based companies to attract investments, seek marketing or manufacturing partners from China and vice versa.
Liu said that the base population, diverse industries, market size and manufacturing capabilities are Jiangsu's strengths and have long attracted many foreign investments.
"As Jiangsu is looking to transform its economic model, traditional labor-intensive manufacturing and assembly jobs can no longer satisfy the local economic needs. Jiangsu is actively moving towards and seeking opportunities to grow the technology-intensive industries. This is why Jiangsu came back to the summit to seek innovative ideas, teams and companies."
Liu shared with Xinhua that he met with people from a U.S.-based company with the technology to build automated tractors. The U.S. company is looking for business opportunities in China.
"If the technology can be imported to Jiangsu, it not only improves the agriculture productivity, but also helps transform and advance its local tractor manufacturing," he said.
Among the hundreds of companies attending the summit, the majority of them are based in the United States.
"This shows the main stream U.S.-based innovation companies have the willingness to seek opportunities in China," Liu said, adding that he will continue working with companies in Jiangsu, learn their needs and help promote their business opportunities in the Houston area, and bring the two countries closer.
The conference features a range of events, including "INNOSTARS" preliminary competitions, innovation forums, B2B matchmaking, company exhibits, as well as satellite activities.
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