Smart cities and internet security: Next business opportunities for #China and #EU

ChinaEU and the China Information Technology Industry Federation (CITIF) co-hosted the first China-EU ICT Seminar in Cannes, France, in the margin of TRUSTECH, the recent annual fair dedicated to payment, identification, security, and other trust-based technologies.

ChinaEU and CITIF, brought together industry representatives from both China and Europe in smart cities, smart transportation and information security to explore possible business cooperation opportunities in relevant fields. The aim was to boost mutual understanding of each other’s market initiatives and facilitate specific co-operation between undertakings concerned.

Gao Sumei, Executive Secretary General of CITIF opened the floor by introducing development of ICT in China and the current situation of China’s information security conditions. She stressed the fact that today China attaches great importance to international cooperation in order to enhance its information security capacity, which opens window for China-EU cooperation on cyber security.

Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, subsequently provided an overview of the current ICT market and cybersecurity situation in Europe with a focus on 5G environment. He advocated a coordinated approach across the member states, as well as a closer relationship with Chinese partners. Seeing cyber security as a priority area to enhance China-EU digital cooperation, Gambardella proposed to associate China into the next-phase work of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA)--the EU agency for cyber security, whose mandate will lapse in June 2020.

Régine Blanc Gras, responsible for the marketing innovation IoT & smart cities at Orange explained the company’s vision on smart city development. She illustrated the company’s approach with lively case studies. Orange is one of the largest operators of mobile and Internet services in Europe and a global leader in corporate telecommunication services. Orange has expanded its expertise to smart solutions and has become one of the European pioneers in this domain.

The initial presentations were followed by a nourished discussion between the participants, including Secure-IC, TUV Informationstechnik GmbH, PeopleNet Security Technologies, Tianjin Smart City Research Institute, Electronics&Information Industry Sub-Council, Guangzhou Radio Group, Enjoyor.Co., Ltd, China Electronics Standarization Institute, Pci-suntektech Co., Ltd and Jiangsu Houge Technology Group.

Overall, participants took the view that the seminar offered a particular opportunity for them to identify each other’s needs and strengths. Some of the participants said that the contacts established during the seminar could even pave way for possible concrete collaboration in the near future.

ChinaEU is a business-led International Association aimed at intensifying joint research and business cooperation and mutual investments in Internet, Telecom and Hi-tech between China and Europe. ChinaEU provides a platform for constructive dialogue among industry leaders and top-level representatives of European institutions and the Chinese government.

Share this article: