Boston Welcomes Chinese Enterprise Park

A Chinese-funded enterprise park has found a home in Boston.

Representatives from the US and China gathered at the Massachusetts State House on Feb 26 to celebrate the launch of the Shanghai Zhangjiang Boston Enterprise Park.

Initiated by the administrative committee of Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, China’s leading innovation hub in Shanghai, the new Boston park covers more than 73,000 square meters (785,000 square feet), with 12,000 square meters of office buildings.

The new park is expected to foster innovation between the two countries by offering platforms to train and exchange talent, work on joint projects, trade scientific and technological achievements, and incubate new industries and companies.

“By connecting China’s Shanghai and America’s Boston, we are putting two very strong innovative centers together,” said Wang Zhigang, China’s vice-minister of Science and Technology. “The cooperation will benefit not only the two cities, the two countries, but also the development of science and technology worldwide.”

Zhang Qiyue, Chinese consul general in New York, whose consulate serves 10 states in the Northeast, said the relationship with Massachusetts is an important one to China.

For a long time, Chinese students have been studying in Massachusetts at schools such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Economically, China’s CRRC, the world’s largest railcar maker, broke ground last year on a $60 million facility in Springfield.

Two large Chinese insurers, China Life Insurance Group Co and Ping An Insurance Co, recently each invested $167 million into the redevelopment of Boston’s Pier 4.

Hainan Airlines launched direct flights between Boston to Beijing and Shanghai, and Cathay Pacific operates direct flights from Boston to Hong Kong.

As Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker briefed the audience on all the increasing ties between Massachusetts and China, he pointed out that the new industrial park will bring the two even closer.

“This new innovative venture, which takes advantage of many of the great strengths of both Massachusetts and China, links Chinese companies with Massachusetts companies and Chinese investors to the Shanghai Boston enterprise parks and US investors,” Baker said.

“It is a terrific opportunity to not only create jobs for people here in Massachusetts and to grow our economy, but to pursue new frontiers and research development, new products and innovation,” continued Baker.

Established by the Administration Committee of Shanghai High-tech Industrial Parks and the US-China Partnership Committee, the park will be operated by a US-China joint venture.

The park will house six innovation centers, including biomedical technology, artificial intelligence, network information technology, health care, semiconductor integrated circuitry, and energy and environmental projects.

After becoming a member of the park, enterprises and research institutes from China and the US can choose to settle in the park or establish industrial bases and conduct business in other places across the US.

“It’s not just Chinese companies coming to the US. We want it to be a real two-way cooperation. We want to attract a lot of American talents,” said Xie Jihua, the China-side leader of the joint venture.

After the opening ceremony, nearly 100 Chinese and American enterprise owners, who are interested in using Shanghai Zhangjiang Boston Enterprise Park to expand their businesses, sat together and learned about each other’s companies and needs.

By HEZI JIANG Feb. 29, 2016 on China Daily

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