Frank Pitzer, general manager of Roche Diagnostics' factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu province When Frank Pitzer first visited China, in 2000, he could tell the country was developing rapidly by looking at the infrastructure being built. Two years ago, when he officially relocated to the country as general manager of Swiss healthcare giant Roche Diagnostics' new factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, development was still the theme, but with tremendous changes due to a new focus on research and development. Pitzer joined in the Suzhou project in October 2013. He flew regularly to China for preparatory work in 2015 and moved to the city in early 2016 to break ground on the project. He said the new position was exciting, because very few people have the privilege to build a factory from scratch. Roche Diagnostics Suzhou, the company's first production base in the Asia-Pacific region, is scheduled to roll out its first products for sale in Asia this year. The investment in the new factory, covering some 48,000 square meters in the 24-year-old China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, was about 450 million Swiss francs ($472 million). When completed, it is expected to employ about 400 local people. In the long-run, production of 102 products for the Asian market, targeting metabolic, cardiovascular and hepatic diseases, among others, will be transferred from Germany to the Suzhou factory. Pitzer has established a five-person R&D team in Suzhou that is likely to expand. The facility is already cooperating with local universities and professors in other parts of the world in the hope of building up Roche's R&D strength in China. We want to make sure that the interests of Chinese patients will be better reflected within the global development framework, Pitzer said. He said he had noticed a significant improvement in the quality of Chinese academic studies and the output of China's universities over the past three years, laying a solid foundation for good R&D work. However, while innovation was happening in China, it was doing so in a spotty, uncoordinated manner, Pitzer said. But things will change given all the investments that China has made in universities and institutions, and in industries such as healthcare and life science. Former science and technology minister Wan Gang said early this year that China's investment in R&D last year rose 14 percent year-on-year to 1.76 trillion yuan ($279 billion) - which was 2.1 percent of the country's GDP. According to World Bank statistics, spending on R&D in the United States in 2015 equaled 2.8 percent of that country's GDP, compared with 2.9 percent in Germany and 3.3 percent in Japan. China should become one of the leading countries in terms of innovation, and grow into a major technology driving force worldwide by 2050, Wan said. While China may have begun focusing on innovation later than some other countries, Pitzer said there is no significant gap between China and those countries in terms of infrastructure and critical thinking. For science practitioners, critical thinking is vital, he said. I do see that among the employees in our facility. They can make their own decisions and apply knowledge when necessary. China is doing everything right. A lot of innovation will come from the country in the future. It won't take long. custom printed wristbandstyvek wristbands londonuv braceletwrist band com coupon code
KAIFENG, Henan -- A trial opened Wednesday in Central China's Henan province on the suspected crimes of Henan Yuda Real Estate Company and three of its employees. The company and its employees Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling are charged with two crimes of fraud, according to Kaifeng City Intermediate People's Court. The "actual controlling shareholder" of the company, Guo Wengui, fled China under suspicion of multiple crimes in August 2014 and is currently listed under an Interpol "red notice" for wanted fugitives. The procuratorate in Henan found that from May 2008 to April 2015, Guo told the three to set up shell companies and fabricate contracts and projects to fraudulently obtain loans and for banks to accept financial bills, worth a total of 1.44 billion yuan (about 211.05 million U.S. dollars). Part of the money was used to clear Yuda's debts, while the rest was transferred overseas or to Beijing Pangu Investment. More than 212 million yuan is yet to be recovered. According to a Chinese court ruling last month, Guo, also the actual controlling shareholder of Pangu, directed three individuals of Pangu to apply for loans from banks using fake contracts, stamps and financial statements. The three received prison terms for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange. Pangu was also fined 245 million yuan.
