The first Zhongguancun International Startups Festival kicked off in Beijing's Haidian district, in the hope of developing a Davos-like forum for innovators and startups in the capital's Internet hub.

"This is the first time that Beijing is hosting a global innovation affair like this, which will benefit the city in terms of gathering global resources for innovation and extending our level of opening-up," said Guo Guangsheng, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government.

The festival features a competition involving around 1,000 startups from China, the United States, Israel, Europe and Latin America. After more than seven months, 21 startups entered the finals on Tuesday. Prizes include $1.5 million in cash awards and $25 million in investment funding sponsored by Shengjing, one of China's largest management consulting and private equity investment advisory firms.

"I hope the festival will develop the Zhongguancun brand, like a Davos forum for startups and innovators," Guo said.

The competition attracts venture investors from across the globe, such as Menlo Ventures in the US, the EMC Center of Excellence in Israel and Telefonica, the largest multinational in Spain.

"Chinese efficiency is amazing. The world looks to China when considering civilian engineering projects," said Oran Berry, general manager of the Israel center and a judge for the competition. "And it does not come to become a leader in civilian engineering without innovation. So there is no reason why China cannot do joint ventures internally and externally."

chengyingqi@chinadaily.com.cn