2024-07-31 12:02:53
Seoul City has promised to collaborate with Chongqing City, China, with which it has maintained friendly relations for the past five years, in the bio and high-tech industries. It also invited the mayor of Chongqing City to the Smart Life Week (SLW), the Korean version of the CES exhibition, to be held in October.
On the 29th at 2:00 PM (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the Chongqing Dadi Life Science Park, one of China’s top five pharmaceutical bases, and signed a business agreement between Seoul Biohub and Yanggang Life Science and Technology.
Mayor Oh said, “Seoul is very interested in fostering the bio industry, expecting that the bio industry will emerge as one of the most important industries along with semiconductors in 10 to 20 years.” He added, “Seoul has world-class hospitals and is a city with ample potential for development in new drug development and clinical trials, so let’s join forces to revitalize the bio ecosystem and promote exchanges between companies from both countries.”
‘Seoul Bio Hub’ is a representative bio industry fostering anchor facility in Seoul, and it opened in 2017 with the Industrial Support Building, followed by the Research and Experiment Building and Regional Open Building. In April of this year, it additionally opened a global center to support overseas expansion of new bio and medical companies.
Chongqing Yangjiang New Area Development Investment Group, which operates Yangjiang Life Science and Technology, is a 2 trillion won state-owned enterprise that researches various cutting-edge industries, including life science and biotechnology projects.
Through this agreement, both parties promised mutual cooperation to discover innovative companies in the bio field, promote exchanges between companies, and expand research and development (R&D).
As the city with the second largest aging population in China, Chongqing is known for its high demand for medical services and pharmaceutical development.
Mayor Oh met with Chongqing Mayor Hu Henghua at 5 p.m. that day to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation to promote city diplomacy in culture, tourism, and other areas, as well as expand economic and industrial cooperation. Seoul and Chongqing have maintained a friendly relationship since establishing friendly cooperation in 2019.
Mayor Oh said, “I discovered that the city government is very considerate of its citizens when I saw that air conditioners were installed in places where people could avoid the heat and cold in the Chongqing subway station,” and “I also saw that the building of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea has been well-preserved and is functioning properly thanks to the utmost efforts of the Chongqing city government.”
Mayor Hu Henghua said, “In the era of mobility, the development of transportation infrastructure is something we need to think about together,” and added, “I hope that we can find ways to apply cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to urban development together.”
Seoul City also invited Chongqing City to the first Smart Life Week event held in October. Mayor Oh emphasized, “I hope you will join us in the exhibition to show how cutting-edge science and technology can enrich and make people’s lives happier.”
Photo by Kim Jeong-hyeon, provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government
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2024-07-31 12:02:53