Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon tours China's Silicon Valley seeking opportunities for Korean startups

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Beijing’s Zhongguancun, also known as China’s Silicon Valley, to develop strategies for Korean startups to expand into Beijing.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, seventh from left, watches Tiangong, an electronically driven humanoid, move at the Humanoid Robot Innovation Center in Beijing on Wednesday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Beijing’s Zhongguancun, also known as China’s Silicon Valley, to develop strategies for Korean startups to expand into Beijing.

Zhongguancun is a major technology hub in northwest Beijing where companies like Baidu, Lenovo and Xiaomi started.

The Seoul mayor toured major facilities in Zhongguancun that support startups, particularly on InnoWay, a 220 meter (656 feet) street focused on startup support. InnoWay opened in 2014 and houses around 50 institutes that support startups, operating some 3,000 incubation programs.

Oh visited the Peking University Entrepreneur’s Training Camp, one of the major institutes supporting and fostering future startups. The organization offers mentoring, education, labs and networking spaces. The mayor also met with the head of the Korea Innovation Center in China, a nonprofit institute established in 2016 under Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, which supports the expansion of Korean technology and companies in the Chinese market.

Earlier that day, Oh visited the Humanoid Robot Innovation Center in Beijing, where he saw Tiangong, an electrically driven humanoid developed by the center. Tiangong is China's homegrown humanoid, capable of running six kilometers per hour (3.7 miles per hour) and imitating human facial expressions with up to 85 percent accuracy. It can also lift objects that weigh up to 5 kilograms (11 pounds).

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its comprehensive plan to foster the robotics industry in the city last July, including plans to open a hub for robotic companies in Suseo, southern Seoul.

The Seoul mayor also discussed the future of the robotics industry in both Korea and China with officials at the center.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, second from left, speaks during a conference attended by some 30 Korean companies based in Beijing to hear about the business environment in the overseas city on Thursday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Oh concluded his three-leg trip on Thursday after holding a conference with 30 Korean companies based in Beijing, including Posco China and Seoul Dairy Cooperative.

“I am aware that the business environment in China is currently difficult for many reasons,” Oh said. “We will thoroughly listen to the thoughts and requests from the businesses and will provide support where the city government can help.”

On the same day, Oh met with the CEO of the Trends Group, China's largest fashion magazine group, the CEO of Shero Entertainment and a Kunqu performer to discuss ways to promote cultural exchanges between Korea and China. Kunqu is a traditional opera genre from Jiangsu Province.

"Culture and the arts are strategies to enhance the character of a city and a country, as well as a foundation for the future,” Oh said.

“I expect there will be more opportunities for exchange and cooperation between Seoul and Beijing — the capitals and cultural centers of the two countries — in the future."

Oh’s visits last week came during his nine-day trip to Paris, Chongqing and Beijing. During the trip, he met with Beijing Mayor Yin Yong to restore city diplomacy between the two capitals. This marked the first high-level talks between the mayors of Seoul and Beijing since 2018.

He also promoted Seoul at a booth set up at the Wukesong Wanda Plaza in Beijing, highlighting the food and lifestyle of Seoulites. Earlier last week, the Seoul mayor visited the Korean provisional government in Chongqing and met with the descendants of independence fighters.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]