○ Gyeonggi Province and Hangzhou City sign implementation agreement on afternoon of October 10 for cooperation in global start-up creation
○ Parties agree to support global market entry of innovative start-ups from both regions through mutual communication, exchange, and cooperation
– Cooperation to include establishment of joint overseas offices for start-ups, co-hosting of global start-up contests, creation of investment funds, and more

Gyeonggi Province and Hangzhou City have agreed to establish and operate a cooperative system to support global market entry by Korean and Chinese start-ups. These efforts will include the establishment of joint overseas offices for start-ups.

On the afternoon of October 10, Gyeonggi Province and Hangzhou City signed the “Implementation Agreement on Cooperation for Global Start-ups” at the Novotel Ambassador Suwon.

The event was attended by 25 representatives from Korea and China including: Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-soon; Hangzhou Municipal Government Deputy Secretary General Zhan Guoping; Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator Executive Director Lim Keun-jae; Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation President Lee Gyeong-jun; Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology Vice President Ko In-jeong; and Hangzhou Science and Technology Department Vice President Fung Lei.

The signing of the agreement followed discussions held this past July when Gyeonggi Province representatives visited Hangzhou seeking cooperation in start-up initiatives; this in turn came after the establishment of the Gyeonggido-Hangzhou Global Start-up Cooperation Agreement in January of this year.

The agreement embodies the positive intent of Gyeonggi Province and Hangzhou City to actively promote the co-development of start-ups from both countries so that they can enter global markets, including the Korean and Chinese markets, through mutual communication, exchange, and cooperation.

The agreement involves 7 bodies, including the governments of Gyeonggi Province and Hangzhou City, the Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator, the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, the Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Hangzhou Advanced Technology Investment Co., Ltd., and the Hangzhou Global Innovation Center.

Through the agreement, the two governments plan to jointly establish overseas offices to facilitate cooperation according to the needs of start-ups, and to hold regular joint cooperation meetings. In addition, they also discussed ways in which to share resources such as work spaces, facilities, funds, technology services, and more through interactions between “incubation base points” in the regions.

Furthermore, the two parties will strive to make joint investments in start-ups that are in their early stages, and to integrate resources and capacities in order to create “special investment funds” to help exceptional start-ups from the two countries with global market entry. They also agreed to jointly hold the “Global Start-up Contest” to encourage information sharing, exchange, and interaction between Korean and international start-ups, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-soon said, “I hope today’s event becomes a starting point for us to promote mutual development, and start-up entry into global markets through related platforms to facilitate exchange and interaction. Please follow and support these efforts so that we can identify more areas for cooperation in the future. Gyeonggi Province will continue to do its best.”

Deputy Secretary General Zhan Guoping replied, “I hope Hangzhou and Gyeonggi Province continue to build a friendly long-term relationship in various areas including economy, technology, human resources, and more. We will do our best to help companies based in Hangzhou establish a presence in Gyeonggi Province. Let’s continue to promote shared dialogue and cooperation.”

With 26 unicorn companies that have an estimated net value of more than USD 1 billion, Hangzhou is one of three major start-up incubation and investment cities in China. It is also home to the headquarters of Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in China.