The Yangtze River Delta Offshore Innovation Alliance was inaugurated at Nanxiang town, Jiading district, Shanghai on Jan 3.

The alliance was initiated by incubators and technology transfer institutions, professional service organizations and local governments and industrial parks of Shanghai, and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.

The establishment of the alliance marks the forming of a marketization mechanism, which integrate the innovation and entrepreneurship of the Yangtze River Delta.

The Yangtze River Delta Offshore Innovation Alliance is inaugurated at Nanxiang town, Jiading district, Shanghai on Jan 3. [Photo/WeChat account: zj-toutiao]

Ge Peijian, former general manager of Zhangjiang High-tech Park, pointed out in his keynote speech that in order to become an urban agglomeration with global competitiveness, the Yangtze River Delta must give Shanghai the leading role in building a globally influential scientific and technological innovation center to drive the upgrading of the entire region.

On the flip side, Shanghai needs a larger industrial cluster in the Yangtze River Delta to further improve its economic level and industrial structure, Ge added.

According to the declaration of the alliance, the alliance will act as the platform to strengthen the advantages of the alliance integration, attracting innovation and entrepreneurship talents, capital and technology achievements to the Yangtze River Delta.

The final of the 11th Tech 50 Entrepreneurship Competition was held on the same day.

The competition was launched by Tech 50, a business incubator located in Nanxiang in 2013. It has helped increase the national exposure of Nanxiang and encouraged more companies to settle down there.