The first Qingtonghui event in 2023 kicks off in the Optics Valley of China. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The first Qingtonghui event in 2023 took place in the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC) on March 2.

Qingtonghui, one of the most influential innovation and entrepreneurship events developed in the valley, has been held more than 110 times since December 2013, with over 900 road shows conducted and over 1,000 institutional investors having participated.

About 400 business founders and representatives of over 60 local enterprises participated in the event, sharing their experiences and conducting road shows. Meanwhile, three world-class sci-tech achievements were announced.

Business founders, corporate representatives and investors attend the Qingtonghui event on March 2. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

OVC made a proposal targeting its 120,000 market entities, encouraging a group of leading enterprises and public technology service platforms to cooperate with fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises with strong development potential and engage in friendly interactions with them. This will help the valley to create a targeted entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The 2022 OVC innovation and entrepreneurship development report was also released during the activity. In addition, 55 awards, such as those recognizing excellent innovation and entrepreneurship incubation carriers, high-quality and high-end new businesses, were conferred.

The valley has taken the initiative to set up China's first sci-tech enterprise incubator, and by the end of 2022, it boasted nearly 200 such incubators, including 74 national ones, ranking it fourth in the world's top 10 high-tech industrial park ranking.

OVC is continuing to work with Ezhou, Huangshi, Huanggang and other cities and promote the development of Wuhan metropolitan area.

Over the past decade, the numbers of new businesses and high-tech companies in OVC increased 4.8-fold and 6.8-fold, respectively.