The UK2China Market Expansion Programme provides practical assistance to UK companies who are aiming to expand their businesses into China. The pilot programme is focused on Jiangsu province, one of China’s most innovative product manufacturing economies.
The programme will help UK companies negotiate collaborations with Chinese companies and source funding from the Jiangsu government. It will also assist companies who wish to set up their China offices in Jiangsu. Isis Innovation expects that most grants will be in the range of £500k or more.
Many provinces in China offer attractive schemes to attract foreign companies. A cooperation agreement was signed between the UK and Jiangsu provincial governments late last year. Tim Standbrook, Consul Science & Innovation, British Consulate-General Shanghai, says: “The UK and Chinese governments are working together closely to increase innovation collaboration and finance. This has been a key message of recent summit meetings. In practical terms, Isis Innovation is setting an example of how successfully to establish and grow innovation relationships on the ground.”
“We are therefore pleased to note the launch of their new UK2China programme, and are keen to support innovation activity of this kind. We recognize China’s increasing focus on innovation and demand for innovative products, and would encourage UK companies and research institutes to look at the opportunities China presents. We work closely with Jiangsu Province, and recognize it as one of China’s foremost centres for innovation. Existing case studies show that Jiangsu welcomes innovative companies looking to establish a presence there.”
A number of Jiangsu provincial grants are available to support the following:
(1) introduction of international teams and companies who may benefit from:
· Startup grants of maximum £100k to establish their own Chinese offices
· Relocation assistance providing additional grants in the range £100k-500k to cover all the daily expenses of experts working in Jiangsu
(2) international collaboration projects between Jiangsu companies and UK organisations to develop new products; unlimited financial support is available this year, in practice we expect most grants will most be in the range of £500k or more.
International collaboration projects initiated by teams moving to China can apply to both funding schemes.
Apart from the provincial schemes each city has similar supporting grants which are also available to both international talents and projects.
Isis Innovation consultants managing the UK2China Market Expansion Programme can assist UK companies to:
• Identify potential local partners from the research, business or investment communities
• Arrange visits and meetings with Chinese partners either in the UK or China
• Assist in communications between UK and Chinese organisations
• Identify and administer applications for grant funding
• Provide administration support post funding to satisfy grant terms and conditions
• Provide support during the applications process to companies who wish to set up their own Chinese companies and offices
Dr David Baghurst, Managing Director of Isis Innovation (Hong Kong) explains: “Isis Innovation has been working in Jiangsu since 2008, we have created a network of offices and our local teams have helped technology based projects from the UK and Europe become established in the province. The availability of an uncapped source of funding support from the provincial government means that this is a very good time for UK companies to explore collaboration opportunities in the province”.
Tom Chen, Head of Isis’s Jiangsu team adds: “The real value our local team adds is knowledge of the systems, experience of landing real projects and the high level of technical experience of our staff who have all worked for technology and intellectual property based companies. With the recent launch of the ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative there is strong demand from partners and the Chinese market for new innovations in the areas of new information technology, numerical control tools and robotics, aerospace equipment, ocean engineering equipment and high-tech ships, railway equipment, energy saving and new energy vehicles, power equipment, new materials, biological medicine and medical devices, and agricultural machinery.”