What meeting was held?, Developer Conference of the Yangtze River Delta Integration Demonstration Zone | Developers | Yangtze River Delta
One day in 2019, Huang Jia, Managing Partner and Shanghai Managing Partner of PwC China, proposed at a meeting that a "Developer Alliance" could be established. After the meeting, the staff of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission specifically consulted him for specific ideas. At this time, there are still several months until the unveiling of the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integration Development Demonstration Zone on November 1st of that year.
A few months later, at the unveiling ceremony of the demonstration zone, Shi Xiaoqiang, then the head of the preparatory group for the Shanghai branch of China Three Gorges Group, heard someone discussing the "developer conference". Although it is not yet clear how this conference will be held, his intuition tells him that it is an opportunity and he should strive to participate.
In January 2020, the Executive Committee of the Demonstration Zone held a symposium on the preparation work for the developer conference. The relevant leaders of the executive committee, leaders of several leading companies, and founders of start-up companies sat around a round table, expressing their opinions on what kind of developer conference should be held. Some people heard the term "developer" for the first time, but this did not affect the debate on a key point. Compared to conventional and moderate government meetings, that symposium was more like a brainstorming session.
The concept of "developer conference" comes from Internet companies. Usually, there will be big players in T-shirts walking back and forth in front of the big screen, talking freely, releasing the latest technologies and products, and interacting with the audience. An influential developer conference can become a grand event in the industry and lead the development trend of the industry. In contrast, the Developer Alliance is an open cooperation platform for Internet companies to face ecological partners, hoping to jointly build an open and win-win innovation ecosystem.
The government is better at holding investment promotion conferences, where government officials come on stage to introduce the business environment and release investment demands. Can the government organize the "Developer Conference" and establish a "Developer Alliance" to achieve good results?
Today, the 2023 Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integration Development Demonstration Zone Developer Conference and Demonstration Zone Full Link Conference were held in Qingpu, Shanghai. This is the fourth developer conference held in the demonstration zone. Over the past three years, the concept of "developer" in the Internet industry has been repeatedly mentioned in the demonstration zone: instead of attracting investment through traditional forms such as the management committee or development companies, enterprises, universities, research institutes and other organizations of different natures have come to the same platform to "develop" the demonstration zone.
Whether the effect is good or not, speak with facts.
Breaking the circle
On August 25, 2020, before the establishment meeting of the Developer Alliance for the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integration Development Demonstration Zone, the staff specially adjusted the seats on the podium.
The seat for the leader of the Executive Committee of the Demonstration Zone was originally arranged at position C on the podium, but during the meeting, his seat was moved to the second one on the left. In the center of the six seats on the podium, the leaders of China Three Gorges Corporation and Fudan University were sitting. "The developer alliance is like this, we all sit together, we are all insiders, there are no outsiders here," explained the executive committee.
This detail has been repeatedly savored by Zhang Yi, Executive Vice President of Fudan Development Research Institute, until now. Before that meeting, she attended an internal meeting of the founding members of the Developer Alliance in the demonstration area. As soon as she sat down, she felt extraordinary. At that time, the 12 founding members of the Developer Alliance gathered together, and their seats were marked with brand names. Zhang Yi saw that on both sides of her were China International Finance Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Urban Investment Co., Ltd., while on the opposite side was China US Green Fund Management Co., Ltd. Previously, Zhang Yi held various alliance meetings, but most of the attendees were peers. At this venue, participants from different industries and fields made her feel refreshed.
Looking back at the 12 founding members at that time, including 5 enterprises, 2 funds/investment banks, 2 professional institutions, 2 universities, and 1 central media, there was 1 leading enterprise in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, 2 from outside the Yangtze River Delta, and 7 founding members were aimed at the whole country and even the world. Gathering these well-known industry organizations with their own traffic together on the developer alliance platform is a cross industry breakthrough.
At the first developer conference held on August 26th of that year, breaking through the circle continued. The organizers and organizers of the conference have a large and diverse team, including government departments, high-tech enterprises, planning and design companies, financial institutions, high-end think tanks, universities, and research institutes, among others. It may seem out of place, but it has broken through and merged into one venue.
Since then, every developer conference has been a process of breaking through boundaries. Data shows that since the establishment of the Developer Alliance, the alliance has absorbed a total of 41 members from three batches on top of the 12 founding members. On the eve of this year's Developer Conference, the alliance has expanded again, adding 13 new member units, bringing the total number of alliance members to 64. The 13 new member units that have joined the alliance are still diverse, covering different types such as domestic and foreign enterprises, financial institutions, professional institutions, universities, and media. The business formats cover areas such as ecological environmental protection, green infrastructure, digital economy, green finance, and business tourism culture.
What is the reason for repeatedly breaking through circles? Zhang Zhongwei, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission and Deputy Director of the Executive Committee of the Demonstration Zone, once made an analogy: "Originally it was slash and burn farming, but now we are looking for powerful propellers in the construction of the demonstration zone."
Zhang Zhongwei's term "slash and burn cultivation" refers to the traditional regional development model: establishing a management committee, establishing a development company, and then attracting investment. But the demonstration zone is different from any other development zone in the past. It is cross provincial administrative regions and needs to explore new mechanisms for regional integrated governance without breaking administrative affiliations and boundaries. The traditional development model driven by administration is clearly no longer suitable for demonstration zones.
The developer conference provides a new solution: driven by market forces, empowered by enterprises and social institutions, allowing more developers to become powerful promoters of the construction of demonstration zones.
Cohesion
After breaking through the circle, it becomes cohesion.
In October 2020, Tongji University joined the developer alliance as one of the first new members, recommended by Three Gorges Group, Fudan University, and China Urban Planning and Design Research Institute.
At that time, Tongji University planned to establish the Yangtze River Delta Sustainable Development Research Institute in the demonstration area. What kind of research institute should this institute be built? In 2021, Wu Jiang, former executive vice president of Tongji University and director of the Yangtze River Delta Sustainable Development Research Institute, visited Baoye Group's laboratory in Shaoxing and saw an advanced low-carbon green technology. He blurted out, "Take this technology to our research institute." Baoye Group and Tongji University were among the "allies" who joined the developer alliance. After that visit, both sides agreed to establish a building carbon neutrality research center within the Yangtze River Delta Sustainable Development Research Institute.
At the developer conference this year, Tongji University signed a contract with four companies including China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group to establish a research center, and set up a technology demonstration and experimental base within the Yangtze River Delta Sustainable Research Institute. For example, collaborating with China Energy Conservation and other companies to showcase the experiment of combining digital twin platforms with photovoltaic hydrogen energy for photovoltaic direct flexible technology; Collaborated with Baoye and others in the construction of the first and second phases of the research institute to complete the technical renovation of existing buildings and the demonstration of near zero carbon and ultra-low energy consumption design and construction of new buildings. "If it weren't for the joint participation and progress of these developer alliances, related universities, research institutes, and business partners, our research institute wouldn't have developed at the speed it does today." Liu Jianxiong, Executive Director of the Yangtze River Delta Institute of Sustainable Development, was quite impressed.
At the first developer conference, the relevant person in charge of Huawei mentioned Metcalfe's Law in his speech, which is a law of network technology development. The value of a network is directly proportional to the square of the number of connected users. The more nodes and users there are, the greater the network value. In developer alliances, similar effects are also emerging: the more people and institutions participate, the more it helps to accelerate the resolution of problems.
Sometimes, the connection between nodes is purely accidental, but once connected, the power is strong. In October 2020, Shanghai Meifan Yacht Club Co., Ltd. joined the developer alliance of the demonstration zone. At the joining conference, he met an old acquaintance - the parent of a young student of the club. Only then did Shi Lixian realize that another identity of this parent was the relevant person in charge of China Unicom. During the exchange of greetings, the person in charge introduced digital twin technology to Shi Lixian. At that time, Meifan was considering digital transformation, and the two sides reached an agreement to jointly promote the zero carbon boating digital project of Meifan in the Yangtze River Delta.
Afterwards, Shi Lixian participated in developer alliance group activities and visited the Yangtze River Delta Sustainable Development Research Institute of Tongji University. As soon as he entered the exhibition hall, he took a liking to the fully circular ecological toilet and unmanned retail equipment currently on display. Meifan is considering launching mobile water service stations in the demonstration area, and similar technologies need to be introduced. So, it was once again a perfect fit.
On the other hand, a new type of government enterprise relationship is also being explored and developed. According to the "Alliance Covenant" jointly signed by representatives of the alliance members, the alliance will build a new platform for dialogue between the market and the government, continuously empower the construction of the demonstration zone, and promote symbiosis and growth with the demonstration zone.
After participating in the hosting of the first developer conference, China Three Gorges Group was elected as the rotating CEO of the developer alliance. Afterwards, Three Gorges Group deeply participated in the construction of the demonstration zone, not only investing in the construction of the Yuandang Slow Bridge, but also jointly managing the Shuixiang Living Room Company with Changxin Company to promote the blue ring construction of the demonstration zone's Shuixiang Living Room. Recently, the group has established a water management company in Wujiang District, Jiangsu Province, with plans to complete comprehensive sewage treatment projects for over 600 natural villages in Wujiang within two to three years. These projects have continuously extended the business chain of the group in the demonstration zone.
Shi Lixian found that after joining the alliance, communication between enterprises and the government became simpler and more direct. Previously, if a company had problems, it had to first divide them by line and communicate with the cultural and tourism institutions in the town. Then, the town government contacted the district sports bureau, and the district tourism bureau contacted the city tourism bureau, reporting them layer by layer. However, now as an ally, if a company has problems, it can directly provide feedback to the demonstration zone executive committee, which is more efficient and optimizes the problem-solving process. The company's motivation has also increased.
Chemosynthesis
In the developer alliance, every market entity and professional organization can be regarded as a node on the network of demonstration zone construction. Nodes are connected to each other, forming different sized ecosystems. The more nodes there are, the more energy they can stimulate, and naturally, a chemical reaction will occur.
In the demonstration zone, a new model of school enterprise cooperation is budding. "In the past, the cooperation model between universities and enterprises was mostly based on Party A and Party B, with the enterprise providing funds and the university providing solutions. However, this cooperation model lacked communication, Party A was dissatisfied, and Party B felt that it was not understood." Wu Jiang found that a major challenge in the process of industry university research integration was that in the past, there was often a mismatch between the research results of scientific research institutions and the needs of industrial development. He hopes that enterprises can better utilize the school's platform and "brain", and the school and enterprises can reach a consensus on ideas. Everyone can think of problems together here, complete problems together, and design cooperation from beginning to end.
Over the past two years, this expectation has gradually become a reality. At this developer conference, the Executive Committee of the Demonstration Zone, the People's Government of the Two Districts and One County, China Unicom, Baidu Group, Tongji University, Tsinghua University Suzhou Automotive Research Institute, and Yushi Technology jointly signed a cooperation agreement to jointly build a vehicle road collaborative demonstration zone. The focus will be on the research and development of vehicle road collaborative planning in the demonstration zone, the pilot trial of vehicle road collaborative demonstration sections, the creation and innovation of vehicle road collaborative industrial ecology, and the development of cross domain vehicle road collaborative standards, in order to support the demonstration zone in building a vehicle road collaborative demonstration area.
Government, industry, academia, and research can deeply integrate in such cooperation, leverage their respective advantages, and even directly find scenario applications in demonstration areas, where "technological value" and "market value" are expected to be appropriately matched.
Zheng Yongnian, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, once criticized that the problem of many large Internet companies in China is that they are like potatoes. They are unrelated, closed and mutually exclusive. This refers to the difficulty of cooperation between enterprises. In the demonstration area, individual potatoes are showing a trend of fusion. Some leading enterprises are attracting more small and medium-sized enterprises and gradually playing the role of innovation incubators.
At the developer alliance forum of the demonstration zone, the "Big Digital" Innovation Laboratory in Qingpu District, Shanghai was officially launched. The laboratory is supported by Huawei technology and jointly built with Softcom Power and Telecom Qingpu Branch. It will cooperate in fields such as artificial intelligence and industrial software. In the past two years, Huawei has recruited two companies, China Soft and Neusoft, for Jiashan, and established a 5G technology training college with Wujiang. The spillover effects of these top enterprises are expected to help build an innovation industry chain and value chain within the integrated Yangtze River Delta region.
From this perspective, the developer conference and developer alliance in the demonstration zone may become a high-level collaborative innovation platform, establishing an efficient collaborative innovation mechanism, allowing participants from different industries and fields to leverage their strengths, gather strength, resonate with common goals and interests, and perhaps trigger a "chain reaction" in the innovation chain, industry chain, capital chain, and policy chain.
Looking back, this was exactly the original intention of the developer conference.
