Leads, partnerships and plans to return: what the EU|BIC mission to China delivered

Last September, the EU|BIC Ecosystem Discovery mission to China gave participants access to people, organisations and opportunities that they would not otherwise have had.

Organised by EBN in collaboration with the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), the mission brought 20 incubators and companies into direct contact with China’s innovation ecosystem. UNNC’s Li Dak Sum Incubator is the first incubator in China to earn EU|BIC certification and a strong and trusted bridge for European companies to access China. EBN brought together the European delegation, while UNNC and the Li Dak Sum Incubator helped open doors to local businesses, researchers and innovation organisations. Their shared EU|BIC framework provided a common starting point for exchanges on incubation and innovation support.

Twenty participants, four cities, one week

Through company visits, business meetings and exchanges with key innovation stakeholders and government officials, delegates explored opportunities for business, research and incubation cooperation. They also shared experiences and learned from one another within the European delegation.

Pablo Atela left Hangzhou with active conversations with two Chinese companies and a plan to return within a few months. Pablo represents The Pulse and Shackleton, supported by BIC Araba in the Basque Country.

He was one of 20 participants in the EU|BIC Ecosystem Discovery Mission to China: 11 EU|BICs and support organisations and 9 startups and scaleups from 10 countries. Over a week in September, the group travelled through Shanghai, Ningbo, Hangzhou and Wenzhou.

What the delegates took home

Pablo’s follow-up list contains conversations and actions. Beyond the two companies, he plans to explore a branch or subsidiary in China, to stay in touch with UNNC researchers and the Li Dak Sum Incubator, and to attend the next edition of the Hangzhou expo. Pablo measured the expo against what he knows at home: for him, it offers an opportunity similar to Mobile World Congress in Spain, with the same scale and technology on show, but in front of a different set of buyers and partners. Organisers expected 50,000 professional buyers, including over 12,000 from overseas.

Filipe Martins of UB Robotics, a Leiria-based company founded this year, came home with contacts and referrals at several levels:

I have with me a few contacts and referrals, follow-ups at different levels: with small entrepreneurs, with mid-level SMEs, with production factories and very interesting R&D projects, but also contacts in bigger companies.

Filipe Martins, UB Robotics

He expects follow-ups to shape the next three months and says the delegation’s network gave him access to companies, incubators, and universities he could not have arranged alone.

Juan Ramon Mena of Mello, supported by BIC Albacete, met construction companies at the Global Digital Trade Expo to test where his digital twin platform fits, and looked for partners who can help make their European product fit into a Chinese reality. His first steps at home are follow-up meetings and work on a DeepSeek version of their platform. Vitor Ferreira, CEO of Startup Leiria, pitched the organisation to local partners and incubators, while UB Robotics, the startup Startup Leiria brought, pitched and connected with other startups. Vitor is open about what comes next: “It’s a fantastic way to build bridges for future programmes together, investments, who knows what will come from here.”

What changed in how they see China

Several delegates named the same surprise. Izaskun Ruiz de Apodaca of BIC Araba, visiting China for the first time, had not expected hosts so open to strengthening ties with Europe:

Chinese partners are willing to strengthen ties with Europe, and for us it’s a real opportunity. I wasn’t expecting that they were so open to that.

Sébastien Mabillard of CimArk in Switzerland, also on his first trip, found that Europe could learn to build collaborations from China:

We [in Europe] should learn how be faster, how to really build a collaboration and go forward faster. In Europe, we are discussing for a longer time and losing track of time rather than acting. Here, you feel people are ready to act from the start.

David Golding of Inventya (UK) pointed to “the development of the technology, in areas like electric vehicles, in robotics, just how advanced and how fast it is moving and changing.” At Unitree, the delegation saw a company whose humanoid sales grew from five robots in 2023 to over 5,000 in 2025. At Geely, delegates toured a safety centre that tests vehicles for high-speed crashes and for cybersecurity. David noticed something about the group too: organisations from different countries were focused on the same problems and working on them together.

Two pieces of advice came back from delegates. Victor Tienda of BIC Euronova in Málaga recommends studying Chinese business culture before going, including how agreement is signalled in a discussion. Filipe Martins, UB Robotics, speaking to founders: “Be bold! Don’t be afraid of sharing ideas, because everyone is very open to hearing you and to discuss honestly.”

Thank you to our wonderful hosts!

In one week, UNNC met a strong set of European partners: 11 EU|BICs and support organisations and 9 startups and scaleups from 10 countries. That makes UNNC a larger gateway to Europe than it was before the mission, and its own people see it that way. Professor Alain Chong, UNNC’s Vice-Provost for Research and Knowledge Exchange, said:

We really wanted to make an impact. And the impact is to make closer connections to industry that can benefit the society. Being able to bring all these international participants from the EU|BIC community, coming to visit Ningbo and understanding how business is done here is a great opportunity for UNNC for external friendship and promotion of entrepreneurial spirit of China.

Min Rose wrote to the delegates after the mission, on behalf of the incubator and the UNNC team:

On behalf of the Incubator and the UNNC team, I thank you all for being with us through this amazing journey. Your presence here is a constant reminder of our partnership. So great to work with you all, and we hope to have more collaboration and start-ups landing in the near future.

The delegates thanked their hosts in their own words (we present you two among many):

Very, very happy and grateful with the experience I have lived and eager to be back very soon. Part of me remains with Ningbo, with China and with all the incredible people I’ve been so lucky to know.

Pablo Atela, The Pulse

It’s been an unforgettable experience. Thank you to everyone who made it possible, and I’m really looking forward to working on all the opportunities that lie ahead.

Victor Tienda, BIC Euronova

Pietro de Martino, President of EBN, valued how strongly UNNC fits into the EU|BICs community’s core mission: connecting innovation for a collectively better society:

Before the mission, I wrote that an EU|BIC Certification is not only a mark of quality, but also a common language and understanding. The certification of Li Dak Sum Incubator in 2025 meant that we could have a partner in China who shared our understanding of what good incubation looks like. This week proved that this common language brings us opportunities: delegates came home with agreements, introductions and plans to return. EBN has spent 42 years opening doors throughout European regions. Now, we have experienced the same happening in Ningbo, Hangzhou and Wenzhou.

Laura Lecci, CEO of EBN, opens the door to future missions:

The mission brought together some of the things that are at the heart of EBN: connecting people and ecosystems, coming with an open mind and genuine curiosity, and being generous in sharing contacts, experiences and opportunities. The programme was shaped together with UNNC and the Li Dak Sum Incubator, but what really made it valuable was the willingness of everyone involved to listen, explore and create connections beyond their own networks. This is what makes an EBN mission more than a visit: it is an opportunity to build relationships that can lead to something new. We are always happy to explore this kind of collaboration with regions and ecosystems that want to open their doors to the EU|BIC community.

Li Dak Sum earned its EU|BIC certification in 2025. A year later, UNNC hosted a week across four cities, and delegates returned with a signed partnership, live conversations with Chinese companies and plans to go back. The EU|BIC community benefits from missions like this one: the delegates come home with contacts, and the network gains a clearer view of what EU|BICs can offer abroad.

The format will travel.

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