High-tech enterprises providing assistance abroad amid outbreak

Companies from Zhongguancun Science City in Beijing are joining in the global fight against COVID-19, by utilizing their technological applications and donating protective equipment.

An artificial intelligence system developed by Beijing Infervision Technology in the high-tech zone can help detect infections by analyzing CT images, reporting to doctors immediately so as to increase efficiency, and reducing standard wait times for results to two to three minutes. Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital in Rome, Italy, uses this system.

Sun Yipeng, head of the European branch of Infervision Technology, said the system contains data from COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, the hardest-hit region in China, which can be useful for medical workers in Italy.

More than 100,000 doctors at Baidu Health, a medical care service platform in Zhongguancun, is providing 24-hour online medical consultancy services for Chinese people overseas. Baidu Health broadcasts at least one livestream a day to inform overseas Chinese and students abroad of anti-virus advice from medical experts and front-line staff.

The platform has also released handbooks and guides on self-detection and prevention, as well as notices for those planning to return to China. The company said it has provided more than 28 million free consultations within China and those overseas stand at more than 100,000.

On March 21, a business matching event was held by incubator TusStar for tech companies. Four companies introduced their products and services to 10 overseas heads of TusStar in Asia, Europe and North America to evaluate possible cooperation.

Beijing (Haidian) Overseas Students Pioneer Park of China is holding livestream events to target foreign entrepreneurs in China, covering Chinese company law, Chinese labor law, recruitment during the outbreak, opportunities in online markets and investment.

Smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has donated more than 10,000 face masks to Italy to ease its shortage of protective equipment. On the boxes delivered, the company quoted Roman philosopher Seneca: "We are waves of the same sea, leaves of the same tree, flowers of the same garden."

Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, said via Sina Weibo on March 16, that the first batch of medical supplies donated to South Korea was from individuals who had graduated from Wuhan University and companies whose founders once studied at the university.

Leyard Group, a visual media products manufacturer in Zhongguancun, donated 10,000 face masks to South Korean conglomerate LG in mid-March. Seoul provides much help to China during the outbreak, and the return gestures show how countries can help each other out during difficult times.

Officials from Zhongguancun Science City said it will continue to offer technological support to the world to help control the COVID-19 outbreak.