Nobel laureates, world-renowned scientists, outstanding entrepreneurs, along with more than 30,000 innovation enthusiasts and more than 1,000 investors from nearly 100 countries and regions have gathered in Beijing for the HICOOL 2025 Global Entrepreneur Summit, which runs from Oct 16 to 18. The three-day event pools has showcased the latest achievements in various cutting-edge areas, such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, integrated circuits, and new energy.
"I'd like to see the robots. Robots are very handy, because they can easily be mass produced, so once you start having smart robots with very dexterous hands, and I have seen some interesting new hand robots recently. I'm all surprised at the speed of which robots have been developing," said Barry Marshall, a Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine.
"China is making more and more of the leading contributions to research. Those fundamental research successes are being turned into products, into things which improve, benefit society. In fundamental research, you are going from zero to one. Then to go from one to 100 to turn your fundamental breakthrough into something which can be used, it can happen much more smoothly and much more quickly in China," said David Geraint, a professor at Beijing University of Chemical Technology.
The event also features an entrepreneurship competition, which has attracted 13,150 innovation enthusiasts from 139 countries and regions, bringing with them 10,055 entrepreneurial projects.
Among the projects, 56 percent are overseas, and 3,886 participants are foreigners, a 21 percent increase from the previous edition.
In addition to the prize money, winners can also enjoy favorable services in policy consultation, business registration, intellectual property rights, and other areas, covering all stages from incubation to project implementation.
This year's summit has also upgraded platforms to build a comprehensive and multi-tiered resource exchange system focusing on Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation, talent services, and industrial connectivity.
"The cooperation between Hong Kong and Beijing has huge potential. We should leverage our respective advantages, especially in attracting international high-end talents, to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of the separate efforts of Hong Kong and Beijing," said Chris Sun Yuk-han, director of the Labor and Welfare Bureau of Hong Kong.
Since its inception in 2020, the HICOOL summit has attracted over 45,000 entrepreneurs and 34,000 startup projects from 167 countries and regions.
Entrepreneur summit gathers global sci-tech talents and investors in Beijing
A former television host from Taiwan, Zhai Xuan, has made a pivotal decision to leave mainstream broadcasting in order to create content that provides a better understanding of the Chinese mainland and cross-strait relations.
Zhai, a seasoned television host with over a decade of experience in Taiwan's media landscape, recently addressed an audience at an event in Beijing, where she revealed her complete transition into independent online media.
In her remarks, she articulated her aspiration to bridge what she perceives as a significant information gap between audiences on both sides of the Strait, highlighting her commitment to fostering a deeper understanding and connection through her new endeavors.
"I was really surprised by all the fake news. There were stories saying people on the mainland can't afford tea eggs or that they live in mud houses and in Taiwan, this was the main information many people received," said Zhai.
Zhai said she initially began producing online videos to challenge such perceptions while continuing her work as a television host.
In April 2025, she travelled to the mainland with her father to fulfill her late grandfather's wish to return to his hometown. The trip, which reunited family members separated since 1949, was recorded in a video series titled "Journey to Find Our Roots", drawing attention from viewers in both Taiwan and the mainland.
"Many people in Taiwan told me that after watching, they wanted to apply for a mainland travel permit immediately and go looking for their relatives. Some had long forgotten these things, but after seeing my story, they began thinking about their hometowns and family members they had never met and decided to search for their roots," Zhai shared her story at the event.
By mid-2025, Zhai said she began to feel increasing pressure amid rising political tensions and a tightening atmosphere around cross-Strait exchanges in Taiwan.
After more than 12 years in the industry, Zhai resigned from her position, believing it was the right thing to do.
"At that moment, I felt this was a major issue，not just for me, but for Chinese people on both sides of the Strait. If I backed down then, I wouldn’t be standing on the right side," said Zhai.
Since leaving television, Zhai has broadened her online programming to encompass a range of daily-life topics, including practical guidance on applying for a mainland travel permit and using commonly employed mobile applications, in addition to content that delves into historical memory and cultural connections across the Strait.
As the debate over cross-Strait relations continues in Taiwan, Zhai said she remains committed to her current path.
Former Taiwan TV host bridges cross-Strait divide via online media
