UMass establishes Chinese tech base
BYLINE: MARCIA BLOMBERG, STAFF
The University of Massachusetts system has established a "technology base" at a major Chinese university with the aim of facilitating connections between Chinese and Massachusetts companies.
The Massachusetts Technology Base at Tsinghua University Hebei Institute will also help transfer technology developed at UMass campuses and companies to Chinese businesses.
Tsinghua University, with more than 30,000 students, is often called the "MIT of China," according to the UMass Web site, and has produced more than 350 government officials.
The affiliation with such an influential institution "brings UMass instant identity in China as a world-class university," according to the university's "China Project" description on the UMass Web site.
Tsinghua is based in Langfang city in Hebei Province, which has 76 million residents, a potentially rich market in itself for Massachusetts businesses.
The Technology Base will help address some of the barriers to doing business in China, including the different culture and legal frameworks, according to the university's strategy.
The strategy notes that China provides great opportunity for Massachusetts technology companies to supply a country that is importing technologies from abroad.
Eventually the technology base at Tsinghua will be equipped to serve as a "launch pad" for Massachusetts businesses by arranging meetings, providing legal and cultural advice, finding Chinese partners and finding technology buyers, according to the UMass plan.
The base could also lead to development of small business incubators for companies trying to get a toehold in the Chinese market, according to a spokesman for the president's office.
The office did not respond to a question about the cost of setting up and operating the office.
The new base at Tsinghua University is part of a larger China Project undertaken by the UMass system to forge connections with Chinese institutions.
Last year, UMass and a Chinese government office established a Confucius Institute, one of the seven set up by the Chinese in the U.S., at UMass-Boston. The institute provides services including Chinese language instruction, the training of Chinese teachers, curriculum development and cultural events.
Tsinghua faculty are scheduled to visit the UMass-Amherst campus to focus on nanotechnology, while last fall UMass held a U.S.-China Business Forum in Boston that is scheduled to be replicated this fall in China.
The technology base was officially opened earlier this month at a ceremony attended by Marcellette G. Williams, senior vice president for academic and student affairs and international relations for the UMass president's office, as well as the Langfang city, Hebei Province, and Tsinghua University officials.
Williams was not available for comment yesterday.