The first-stage of construction work on an Innovation Center for the Mobile E-town Co, in Beijing's Economic and Technological Development Area (E-town) will soon be completed, meaning better support for enterprises wanting to settle, in the E-town, the area's weekly E-times reported, on Nov 28. The center will covering 130,000 square meters and will be used to help enterprises in E-town build research labs and production lines, and raise capital, and for providing services for them.

The ultimate goal is to be a leader in mobile communications and the Internet of Things, oriented toward low-carbon development, and intelligent, international strategies. The center already has ties with the US, France and Finland and is looking for partnership with innovative institutes all over the world. It organizes an annual Innovation Angel Startup Competition for Chinese and American companies, and the Home of Ardennes (named for a French province) with the help of France, which has become an important door to international markets for E-town. It expects to set up a public exchange forum for technical expertise, and multi-purpose labs, to lower the R&D threshold of its E-town members. It also has a auxiliary services, such as a conference hall, hotel, apartments, and business functions.

Edited by Fang Sha and Roger Bradshaw