The EU-Innovation Club event themed “EU-China Innovative Projects Cooperation” has just concluded in a great success on November 18th, 2018 at Beijing. As an innovative platform of the EU-China Joint Innovation Center, the Club has been shifting the utilization of innovative resources from simple international exchange to real cooperation. It has received wide acclaim since the first event last year, for its originality, tolerance and integration. Thus the current event gained widespread popularity among the innovative enterprises with support from the China Science Center of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and the International Silk Road Academy of Sciences. During the event, Members of the European Parliament and representatives from the embassies of EU Member States shared their opinions on EU-China innovation cooperation and the accompanying opportunities, made the event another grand gathering of the innovation collaboration between EU and China.

The event started with a few exceptional speeches from our European guest speakers who shared several successful case studies of EU-China innovation cooperation and their own experiences, which clarified the topic of this event - innovation. In the second section, 6 innovative projects including: EU-China Joint Innovation Base; EU Diplomat Towns; EU-China International IP Transaction Platform; China Europe International Exchange AG; the Fifth China-EU Film Festival and the EU-China Innovative Tourism project from Finland have made their masterly presentation. Whereafter, 3 cooperative agreements were signed: between EU-China Joint Innovation Center and Portal International IPR Group, and the Organizing Committee of China-EU Film Festival respectively, between Europe China Innovation Fund and Tong Fa Group. The ensuing free communication section saw heated discussion on deeper EU-China exchanges, more accurate cooperation model, sharing of quality resources and mutual benefit. It is reported that the event has already bring forth some good fruit in project cooperation.

Mr. Patrick Nijs, the Belgium Lifelong Honorary Ambassador and Global Facilitator and Co-Founder of the EU-China Joint Innovation Center, delivered the keynote speech. “After the first event we organized last year as the CLUB, we come up today for sharing our vision and display our first projects,” he said, “Likewise, the innovation will never stop.” He also expressed his good wish to the future of the EU-China Joint Innovation Center: “as a non-profit organization in Europe, We wish to bring new impetus and creativity in the relationship based on mutual respect and deep trust.”

Nirj Deva, current Member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the EU-China Friendship Group in the European Parliament, went specific into one exemplary case - “EU Diplomat Towns”. He talked about open-mindedness as an inherent element of innovation, “The concept of EU Diplomat Towns itself is already a great innovation. Unlike traditional scientific or technological innovations, it serves to provide fertile soil for the seed of EU-China innovation cooperation. As a comprehensive platform, it facilitates the cultural collision, inspires innovative ideas and helps to push forward EU-China innovation cooperation. In addition, it has brought mutual understanding and respect, cultural interaction and mutual benefits together with many other numerous changes to both European and Chinese people.”

Derek Vaughan, also Member of the European Parliament, took his own experience as an example of the recent accelerated innovation cooperation between the EU and China, and explained particularly the essential role that the EU-China Joint Innovation Center has been playing in this. He said, “As a MEP dedicated to help with EU-China friendship and cooperation, I want to express my gratitude to the EU Innovation Club, to the excellent teamwork of EU-China Joint Innovation Center, and I do hope that our friendship could have a bright future.”

The EU Innovation Club, with solid support from multiple EU organization such as European Parliament, is committed to enhancing the effective complementation of innovative resources and establishing the cooperative mechanism of innovation between the EU and China, in the aim of growing into a diversified exchange platform including culture, science, technology and tourism, etc. Four events are planned in the near future: “innovative finance & Health Care Industry Cooperation” themed event with Germany being the Guest of Honor, “Innovative Education & Agriculture” for Ireland, “Tourism and Culture & Fashion Industry” for Spain, and “Investigation of Innovation Demonstration Cities” for the European Parliament. By organizing these events, the Club will continue to provide high-quality international exchanges such as policy interpretation, discussion of hot topics, experience sharing from celebrities, to become a in-depth ,high value and diversified international innovation communication platform.