The China Overseas Talents Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was held in Wuhan on 31 July. The programme, which takes place every year, aims to attract Italian and international talents and innovative projects in China and is hosted by the Chinese Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and the Government of Hubei Province.

The programme was organised in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province and the most populous city in central China. The city is also an important centre for industrial innovation with around 80 universities available to nurture companies looking for research and development partners.

The 2021 edition of the event saw the participation of 180 startups from around the world specialising in the areas of 1) Big Health; 2) Electronic Information Technology; and 3) Advanced Manufacturing and New Materials.

The Italian biopharmaceutical startup VAXXIT, whose participation was coordinated by SPICI, was selected to present its vaccines against HIV, Herpes Simplex Virus and M. Tuberculosis to a broad audience of representatives of the Chinese innovation ecosystem.