This is the fifth time Poland has sent a delegation to China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF), and this is also Artur Siejka’s fifth time participating in the CHTF. The previous four events yielded fruitful results, and he has high expectations for the 21st CHTF.
From 2015 to 2017, Siejka organized the Poland booth on the Polish Embassy side. Since last year, he has been organizing the booth on the side of HitechZone, a center helping Polish companies accelerate their pace of entering the Chinese market. The center is located in Foshan and was officially inaugurated two days ago. It currently has six member companies.
“One of the companies, VR Dialog, first came to CHTF three years ago and they saw the potential. They came again and now they have opened a company in Foshan. They have staff, an office and clients in China. This is a great example of how CHTF can help,” said Siejka.
Representatives of the six member companies of HitechZone have also come to the event. The products and services these companies are presenting at this CHTF range from VR games and VR-based education platforms to interactive robots and medical solutions.
When asked why they chose to set up HitechZone in Foshan, Siejka, partner of HitechZone, said the two most important factors are government support and the city’s proximity to other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
“We got a lot of support from the Polish Government and the local government. For the long term, we think Foshan is a good place, because the cost is lower, but more importantly, you can reach Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and other cities in the Greater Bay Area to go physically for meetings. We have taken part in many events in Foshan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.”
Poland has signed a memorandum with China on supporting the Belt and Road Initiative. Siejka said the initiative has created opportunities for cultural and educational exchanges between Poland and China, and new business opportunities have emerged as a result.
“The Belt and Road Initiative is helping a lot. It has created lots of interest on both sides. There are, right now, many cultural and educational exchanges, and there is also cooperation between the governments. As a result, companies are beginning to cooperate. We have more opportunities to get support from local governments here, and even the opening of HitechZone benefited from the initiative.”