Region forges links with Chinese industries

Companies from across the region hosted a visit from Chinese dignitaries including Zhuo Qinrui, the vice mayor of Shenzhen, as part of an international trade visit organised by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (South West RDA) today, Tuesday April 22, 2008.

“Given China’s size, both geographically and economically, it’s essential that we explore the potential for region-to region strategic partnering and economic collaboration within the area. Given that most other RDA’s are located in Shanghai or Beijing, choosing Shenzhen as our base gives the region the significant competitive advantage of being the only RDA represented within the Guangdong region.” said Graham Harrison director of international business at the South West RDA.

Guangdong boasts a significant economy and is seen as the gateway between China and the West. Its 78 million residents and 11 million migrant workers generated 11 per cent of China’s GDP, 36 per cent of its trade and 46 per cent of its hi-tech exports in 2003. The provincial economy is now bigger than the economies of most South East Asian countries.

The visit included a chance for some of the region’s companies who have already developed trade with China to showcase their expertise to the delegation.

One of these companies was picoChip based in Bath. picoChip recently announced that Xinwei Telecom Technology of China selected its proprietary multi-core processor to power Xinwei’s Chinese-developed mobile broadband wireless access standard, optimized for extremely wide area coverage, which is being deployed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

They will be used in the coastal city of Qingdao for Olympic sailing events and on a lake in the Shunyi suburb of Beijing for the Olympic rowing contest. The main application will be relaying live race video information back to shore. As a Xinwei-developed wireless standard, all the development was done in-house by picoChip China.

picoChip sees China as a strategic focus with its first international base outside of the UK having been deployed in Shenzhen in 2004.

Guillaume d'Eyssautier, president and CEO at picoChip, commented,

“To meet the continuous demand for China’s dynamic growth in wireless technology requires local support. Our local offices and design centres help us to serve our existing partners better, but also help us to strengthen and intensify our penetration of the fast-growing market in this region. The Xinwei-Olympic success is a testament to that.”