Zhao Xiaolei: "Industrial Innovation through Partnership with UNIDO — The Key for Sustainable Development across Eurasia"
On 20 April 2026, during the II Eurasian Financial and Economic Forum, Ms. Zhao Xiaolei, Head of the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Shanghai (UNIDO ITPO Shanghai), delivered a keynote address at the plenary session on "Industrial Cooperation."
In her statement, Ms. Zhao underscored that in an increasingly interdependent global landscape, multilateral partnerships constitute the fundamental pillar of industrial transformation and climate resilience. She emphasized that the industrial sector serves not merely as a stakeholder, but as the principal engine of systemic change. Citing UNIDO's Industrial Development Report, she noted that industrial enterprises account for nearly 60 per cent of global "green" patent filings — a clear indication that industrially driven innovation, reinforced by international cooperation, forms the bedrock of sustainable progress.
Ms. Zhao delineated four structural megatrends currently reshaping the global order:
- the global energy transition;
- macroeconomic rebalancing across regions;
- the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0);
- and profound demographic transformations.
In response to these interconnected challenges, UNIDO advances a three-pillar strategic framework:
Pillar I: Innovation as a Catalyst for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID)
Emerging economies stand to benefit from targeted opportunities in renewable energy deployment — spanning green hydrogen, offshore wind, and ocean energy systems — as well as from the strategic adoption of Industry 4.0 enablers, including artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technologies. Concurrently, shifting patterns of foreign direct investment, driven by global rebalancing and regional value chain reconfiguration, present new avenues for productive capacity building.
Pillar II: Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships as the Architecture of Sustainable Industrialization
The UNIDO ITPO global network serves as a critical facilitator of international industrial cooperation, advancing investment promotion, technology transfer, and the cultivation of innovation ecosystems. In this context, UNIDO ITPO Shanghai has operationalized the Global Industrial and Innovation Technology Cooperation Platform — a dedicated mechanism designed to accelerate the dissemination of advanced green technologies and to forge strategic linkages between innovators and international partners.
Pillar III: Technology Transfer as an Enabler of Leapfrog Development in Emerging Economies
Ms. Zhao highlighted the launch of the fifth edition of the "Carbon-Neutral Technologies and Solutions" campaign, implemented under the enhanced modality: "Five Rounds of Technology Roadshows, Ten Cities of International Networking." This initiative aims to bridge the gap between technology providers and deployment-ready markets across Eurasia and beyond.
In her closing remarks, Ms. Zhao extended a formal invitation to enterprises worldwide to actively engage in the campaign, thereby collectively advancing the global green transition. For the Financial and Business Association of Euro-Asian Cooperation (FBA EAS) — a multilateral platform uniting business communities across 25 jurisdictions — strategic collaboration with UNIDO presents significant opportunities to facilitate the integration of green technologies into the real economy and to mobilize international investment for joint sustainable development projects.
Organizational Background
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations system mandated to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States, with particular focus on developing countries and economies in transition.
UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office, Shanghai (UNIDO ITPO Shanghai) functions as a strategic hub for advancing green technology deployment, facilitating cross-border investment flows, and strengthening trilateral and multilateral industrial cooperation frameworks in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.