The past four decades of reform and opening-up have seen the city of Dongguan, known for its prosperous manufacturing industry, make great efforts to step out of its comfort zone and expand its reach. Now, it aims to be an innovation hothouse.

From Dec 13 to 14, Dongguan hosted the 2018 World Dongguan Entrepreneurs Convention, which has long been serving as a platform for local companies to collaborate and share their industry and best business practices. More than 1,200 corporate representatives across the globe took part.

At the event, government officials and executives of this event's sponsor - the World Dongguan Entrepreneurs Federation - reviewed what Dongguan private enterprises have achieved since the reform and opening-up began, highlighting Dongguan's advantageous position in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as well as its solid nonpublic industrial base and applauding its creative will to follow global innovation trends.

Government officials and executives attend this year's World Dongguan Entrepreneurs Convention in Guangdong province. Photos Provided to China Daily

Dongguan Mayor Xiao Yafei said: "Private economy is an essential element of the national economic system and has a bright future and many fruitful results that propel Dongguan's entrepreneurs to even greater heights, motivating them to keep working hard and innovating development models.

"We will continue to back up SMEs and companies with new ideas, and introduce more industrial incubators into Dongguan," added Xiao.

Liang Weidong, Party chief of Dongguan municipal Party committee, said on Dec 14 that the next step for both decision-makers and entrepreneurs in Dongguan is to create more innovative products and a new business model.

"Hong Kong entrepreneurs like me have invested in Dongguan and made Dongguan our home. Nowadays, our nation's blueprints of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Corridor and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are paving ways for further Hong Kong-Dongguan cooperation and industrial transformation in Dongguan," said Stephen Lien, president of Dongguan City Association of Enterprise with Foreign Investment.

One highlight of this event was a signing ceremony held on Dec 14, where the federation and Dongguan Investment Group, with a focus on gathering private capital and promoting enterprises upgrading, signed 12 projects: the federation's headquarters construction project and four industrial projects with investment surpassing 27 billion yuan ($3.91 billion); two financial tech projects and five investment funds projects boasting total capital input of 3.5 billion yuan and credit line of 20 billion yuan.

These projects covering smart industries, renewal of city landmarks, overhaul of transit hubs, equity investment, M&A and financial services for SMEs, will be undertaken by leading enterprises and teams both domestic and international, according to Yin Hongwei, chairman of the World Dongguan Entrepreneurs Federation.

"These projects nicely dovetail with the government's efforts to transition the city into a smart tech hub and accumulate innovation resources," he said.

"Dongguan entrepreneurs from home and overseas are already feeling more confident, as the government attaches great importance to these momentous projects," added Yin.

On the same day, experts in finance and investment took part in the capital summit, an important section of the convention, to inspire Dongguan entrepreneurs to come up with fresh ideas and discover their edges over big market players.

The 1.5 billion yuan Industry Merging Parent Fund was officially launched at the summit, as part of the municipal government's efforts to build an innovative multi-financial services production system.

With the help of these new economic input, Dongguan enterprises are set to bulk up and meet the call of this new era of innovation.