Foreign firms urged to help pool wisdom for Shanghai

Lujiazui, the financial center in Shanghai, forms a perfect backdrop to the Bund area. (Wang Gang/For China Daily)

Amid Shanghai's continued efforts to deepen international cooperation in terms of research and development, multinational companies should be better integrated into the city's innovation network, which would be conducive to the city's high-quality development, said officials and company executives.

They made the remarks on Sunday during the 36th International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai.

Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, said that as technological innovation has been playing an increasingly important role in driving economic growth, Shanghai will expand its science and technology exchanges with other markets.

Efforts will be made to develop offshore technological innovation, Chen said, adding that a foundation to advance coordinated technological innovation at a global level will be built in Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

International organizations are also encouraged to set up branches in the city, and all these steps are aimed at nurturing an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory environment for technological innovation, he said.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng said the scientific research paradigm is undergoing profound changes amid the new round of technological and industrial revolution, and coordination and cooperation are crucial against this backdrop.

Shanghai will implement a global technology partner plan, and will also actively participate in, nurture and initiate international large-scale scientific projects, he said.

Multinational companies will be encouraged to set up international R&D centers and open innovation centers in the city, and will be deeply integrated into Shanghai's local innovation network, Gong added.

As of June, 985 multinational companies had set up their regional headquarters in Shanghai, and the number of foreign-funded R&D centers reached 575, according to the municipal government.

Severin Schwan, chairman of the board of directors of Swiss healthcare company Roche Group, said that openness, innovation and collaboration are important for Shanghai's high-quality development, particularly in the wake of geopolitical tensions and market uncertainties.

Multinational companies can tap into the sectors of healthcare, science and technology, and the digital economy more deeply, said Schwan, who is also chairman for this year's International Business Leaders' Advisory Council.

Dominic Barton, chairman of multinational mining company Rio Tinto, said the private sector has been contributing substantially to research projects, and this is a global trend.

Miguel Lopez, CEO of German industrial and engineering conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG, suggested that Shanghai could place great importance on and fully utilize multinational companies' industrial expertise, global networks, international experience and innovative resources.

The International Business Leaders' Advisory Council was initiated in 1989 and has grown into a think tank for Shanghai mayors over time.

This year's meeting was attended by top executives of 34 multinational companies from 13 countries.