Why Chinese cities such as Chengdu and Wuhan are attracting top tech talent in search of a better life
- Local governments in cities like Wuhan and Chengdu have been eager to boost innovation and cultivate the next big technology unicorns
Two years ago, 33-year old Liu Lei gave up a comfortable career managing investments in a clean energy company in Shanghai to move back to her hometown of Chengdu, the capital city of China’s southwestern Sichuan province.
Unlike Shanghai, a global financial centre and home to China’s biggest stock market, Chengdu was not a bustling finance hub, but Liu did not mind. She had moved back to Chengdu to start her own company Luccroi, a platform providing artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain solutions for the financial industry.
“The quality of life in Chengdu is much better, and living expenses are cheaper,” said Liu, whose career previously had allowed her to live and work in countries like the US and Germany. “Furthermore, the government has very good policies to support young entrepreneurs and start-ups.”
Luccroi’s office is based in Chengdu’s Pidu district, about an hour’s drive from the city centre. The office space was provided free of charge by the Chengdu government, Liu said, as part of an initiative to encourage entrepreneurs to start companies in the city.
Liu is among a growing number of entrepreneurs who have taken advantage of local government policies aimed at boosting the technology industry in cities across China.
Local governments in cities like Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, and Chengdu are eager to boost innovation and cultivate the next big technology unicorns. As such, they have pledged millions to build high-technology parks and offered preferential policies and tax exemptions to big companies who are willing to open up offices and bring talent to the cities.
Cities across China have been investing heavily in technology, innovation and start-ups amid a broader push by the central government to strengthen the tech sector and build an innovation-driven economy. As of 2016, China’s over 7,500 incubators and makerspaces had fostered over 223,000 businesses, according to the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center led by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.