China's booming tech culture inspires UK entrepreneurs toward collaboration

China’s emergence as a leading tech hub represents a great opportunity for the UK’s community of entrepreneurs that are looking to create its tech titans of tomorrow, according to a London Tech ambassador.

Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, a private-sector-led coalition of 6,000 experts that champions London’s potential as a world-class technology hub, said: “It is vital that China’s rise to the top is recognized as an opportunity for the UK to collaborate and not compete.

“As China’s tech ecosystem rapidly expands, the UK can be a source of innovation and creativity – whilst the UK should look at the levels of investment and proficiency with which Chinese businesses scale and take inspiration,” he added.

Shaw, as one of the key UK tech delegates, recently attended London Tech Week’s first overseas mission which took place in Shanghai and Shenzhen, an event that was aimed to encourage relationship between the UK and Chinese tech communities.

China has embarked on a journey to create the world’s biggest tech ecosystem, and Shaw noted that its progress to date signals ambitions that could certainly become a reality.

“The current investment in physical and digital infrastructure, that is being channelled into Shenzhen, is unrivalled by European equivalents - the building blocks of a prosperous tech sector,” he added.

While China has the capital to invest and spur fast growth, he believes there is an active role for the UK to play in China’s tech trajectory.

“Chinese start-ups recognize that they must engage with the UK’s established tech sector if they are to successfully move into European markets,” he said. “Collaboration with UK tech businesses can offer innovation, creativity and a strong sense of entrepreneurship that Chinese tech companies are willing to learn from.”

Shaw said that Chinese companies give strong praise to UK tech, adding that “they admire how closely businesses at the forefront of high-tech advancements work with research institutions in testing concepts and creating commercial opportunities.”

Yet, despite great success stories, Shaw pointed out UK tech companies have struggled to achieve billion dollar valuations, or “unicorn” status, on the same level of those in China and the US, often limited by depth of funding and size of market.

“China has the infrastructure and capital to help innovative UK businesses to scale and achieve the billion-dollar valuations that we see coming out of China and the US,” he added.

In equal measure, he said the UK can also learn from China - that the country managed to avoid restricting growth because the pace of job creation outstrips the talent pipeline.

“Previously, Chinese students educated in Western universities were not returning home - this is changing, and the Chinese tech sector is experiencing the benefits of knowledge transfer from its highly skilled workers that have studied abroad, in addition to the ever-increasing pool of talent being educated at universities across China,” he explained.

Shaw believes the UK has gained advantage and prospered greatly from a diversity of thought as international workers settle in the UK, and China must now work hard to attract their share of foreign talent to bring new ideas and alternative approaches.