On September 4^th and 5^th, the seventh "Global Manufacturing and China" International Conference (GMC'11) co-hosted by Zhejiang University and Cambridge University, was held in Hangzhou. The theme of the meeting was “China's manufacturing industry under the new era: the upgrading and strategy of overseas direct investment “. The experts discussed about the topics of transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, which successfully helped China break out from the financial crisis, and the innovation of global manufacturing network. Deshui Jin, party secretary of Zhejiang University, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

Domestic and foreign scholars from Cambridge University, Northwestern University, Tokyo University, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Chinese Academy of Science and other research institutions, discussed about some academic topics extensively and deeply with experts from Geely, rockwell, Toshiba and other famous enterprises. The topics included "external direct investment and enterprise restructuring and upgrading", " global manufacturing network theory and best practice ", " inter-enterprise networks and capacity building ", " open innovation and global R & D “and " inclusive development and inclusive innovation " . The conference also set up three special academic forums on "dynamic cooperation network management", "China's manufacturing innovation and upgrading" and "the impact of overseas direct investment" respectively. The issues of corporate globalization, manufacturing trends, innovation of manufacturing in all areas and innovation upgrading were also discussed.

Professor Simon Collinson from University of Warwick, Professor Michael Radnor from Northwestern University, and Professor Xiaobo Wu from Zhejiang University delivered speeches on the conference. Simon Collinson analyzed the overseas direct investment of Chinese enterprises on levels of nation and enterprise, and he thought merge could narrow the gap of capabilities between companies. Michael Radnor explained the strategic and technical challenges the next generation of manufacturing industry were facing, and regarded "innovative manufacturing" as the trend. The application of new technologies, the improvements of materials, processes and products and the ability of quick adaptation are necessary key elements for "innovative manufacturing". China's overseas direct investment (ODI) and industrial restructuring and upgrading were illustrated by Xiaobo Wu. He believed that the pre-merger selection was important, while the post-merger integration was more important. A correct and comprehensive knowledge and a systematic framework before merger are necessary for Chinese enterprises to effectively avoid the risk.

"Global Manufacturing and China" International Conference has been held on rotation in Zhejiang University and the University of Cambridge every year since 2005. It has been held seven times, and becomes an international event in the field of manufacturing management. The sponsor of this conference, Innovation Management and Sustainable Competitiveness Center of Zhejiang University which was founded on May 2005, has creatively put forward the "secondary innovation", "combination of innovation management", "comprehensive innovation management" and other original innovation management theory and paradigm.