[TechCrunch Shanghai] TechCrunch Shanghai Officially Underway!

Ned Desmond, COO of TechCrunch, at TechCrunch Shanghai

Dr. Gang Lu, Founder of TechNode, at TechCrunch Shanghai

TechCrunch Shanghai, the first conference held by TechCrunch China, is kicking off this morning at Shanghai International Centre on the Huangpu River bank. The two-day event is packed with all the big names as well as 60 hand-picked startups from all over the world. Please click here for a live stream of the conference to take a close glimpse on the conference. COO of TechCrunch Ned Desmond and Lu Gang, founder of TechNode, welcomed the audience with opening remarks.

Ned Desmond looked back the history of TechCrunch’s entry into Chinese market. After holding a successful Disrupt conference in Beijing 2011, TechCrunch joined hands with TechNode to roll out TechCrunch.cn, the translation site for TechCrunch, earlier this year to secure more readers in China, more importantly, more readers on TechCrunch’s site. While in the past, TechCrunch’s articles are distributed on many different sites without official permission.

TechNode impressed TechCrunch with the commitment to build an ecosystem for startups in general. TechNode is responsible for the operation of TechCrunch.cn, which now has independent editorial team, reporting team, and translation team.

The cooperation will also cover themed events for Chinese tech industry. TechCrunch Shanghai is among a series of conferences which will get great lineup of speakers to the startup community.

Gang Lu expressed his warmest welcome and thanks to the participants for their supports over the past years. TechCrunch Shanghai aims to improve the ecosystem and introduce the latest Chinese tech trends to the world.