2017年CRI Silicon Valley executives and investors confident in China's innovation drive

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A citizen uses her cellphone to scan the QR code on a mobike in Beijing. [Photo: China Daily]

Issues connected to innovation are being actively¹ discussed by lawmakers at the annual political sessions here in Beijing, with observers suggesting the Chinese government's plan for an innovation-driven economy is something readily achievable.

Ken² Drazan, Chief Operating Officer of Silicon³ Valley-based healthcare firm Grail, believes the Chinese government's support of innovation-based industries, such as medicine, is necessary for the success of the overall health of the economy.

"I think the Chinese government recognizes that there are certain industries that are going to be necessary for local success, not just for the viability⁴ of the economy, but also for the health of people and for them to have productive and enjoyable lives," said Drazan.

He also believes Chinese government has been taking the right steps to try to re-tool the country's healthcare sector⁵.

"In order to enable those industries, they are providing regulatory process that enables those companies to thrive. And they are providing capital, making it available to new investment funds, which can then support those companies, and that directed evolution of those industries," added Drazan.

As for Silicon Valley investor⁶ Wu Jun, he believes that while the Chinese approach to developing an innovation-based economy might be different from that of the US model, the same underlying⁷ principles are still there.

"China's innovative⁸ manner and talent structure is quite different from those in Silicon Valley. But their targets are consistent, as they all want to change the world and people's lives with technology. People in China are trying to tackle some practical problems with innovation for a better life," commented Wu before citing the example of a Chinese bike sharing service company Mobike.

"The popular Mobikes in China are helping⁹ solve the urban traffic problem, because there were few people thinking about such issues in the past. And the teams are quite experienced and deep-minded. The sharing model made by them is quite effective, and some U.S. cities are learning from such an experience," added Wu.

Chinese people's enthusiasm toward innovation has made Drazan's company take interest in the Chinese market.

"There's such a massive unmet need in many different situations in China, given the scale of the country's needs that it's a huge opportunity for U.S. companies to figure out how best to support them," said Drazan.

One of the hurdles¹⁰ affecting innovation remains¹¹ a relatively¹² immature¹³ system connected to intellectual property rights.

Addressing this concern, China's Supreme¹⁴ People's Court says trials of intellectual property rights (IPR) cases are going to continue in the country.

Chinese courts at various levels dealt with some 147,000 IPR cases last year, and special courts have also been established to deal specifically with IPR disputes.