Editor's note: East China's Zhejiang province is renowned for its large international population. Aloft on the wings of China's reform and opening-up policy, a group of Zhejiang people have gone abroad to make a living since the 1970s. As this year marks the 40th anniversary of the policy, the Zhejiang website (www.ezhejiang.gov.cn) is launching a series of stories about overseas Chinese who are originally from Zhejiang, as well as those who are active in the province's development. Stories courtesy of Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and Zheshang Magazine

Lin Dong builds a R&D team in Los Angeles, the United States for ocean energy in 2009. [Photo/Zheshang Magazine]

Lin Dong, founder of Greenfull Group Hangzhou Co Ltd, China's leading beef jerky and meat goods maker, is eying the new energy sector for business exploration.

As an entrepreneur with overseas education experience, Lin is quite aware of the potential of ocean energy.

Determined to make some achievements in the development of new energy, the man put aside the main businesses of Greenfull, built a development and research (R&D) team in Los Angeles, the United States in 2009 and joined hands with an American company to delve into the tidal current energy sector. He planned to invest $1 million every year until they accomplished something.

After eight years of experiments, Lin decided to put theoretical results into practice in Zhoushan Archipelago, Zhejiang province. On Jan 12, 2016, a generator set was launched into the ocean and six months later, it successfully realized power generation. Thus, China became the third country that has commanded the technology of using ocean tides for power generation, following the United Kingdom and the United States.

In Lin's eyes, seeking innovation is the task for entrepreneurs. He himself participated in the eight-year R&D process and witnessed the transformation of Greenfull from a traditionally rooted company to a high-tech player.

"We will accelerate the innovation and commercialization of our current findings and strive to secure a leading place in the world's ocean energy industry," said Lin.

In addition to focusing on his own businesses, Lin is also working to capitalize on the strengths of returned overseas Chinese students. He said there are a lot of talents returning to China who have the ability to make significant contributions to the country's scientific and technological development.