The countdown has begun for the Qingdao 2020 Global Venture Capital Online Conference, which is scheduled for May 8-9. A number of distinguished invited guests have sent their best wishes.

The event is sponsored by the Qingdao municipal government under the guidance of the Asset Management Association of China and is designed to promote science and innovation a well as explore a new round of investment to support economic development amid the pandemic.

Due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, the event will be held online. Nearly 100,000 people have signed up, according to local officials.

[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"We can make Qingdao a center for global capital investment, entrepreneurship, and collaboration, both nationally and internationally," said Steve Hoffman, co-founder and CEO of Founders Space, one of the world's leading incubators and accelerators.

[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"We are going to gather in Qingdao online to accelerate the development of new technologies and try to build the city into a global venture capital center," said Thomas J. Sargenta, Nobel laureate in economics in 2011.

[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"So we gather here in Qingdao for the 2020 Global Venture Capital Online Conference to help the next wave of innovators build the next great company," said Scott Bergquist, Chief Credit Officer at SPD Silicon Valley Bank.