(Yicai Global) Jan. 16 -- Yicai Global's parent company, Yicai Media Group, has named UBTech Robotics Chief Executive Zhou Jian as China's most technologically innovative leader of 2018.

The award was one of several Yicai Media handed out at the Outstanding Business Leaders 2018 awards ceremony in Shanghai yesterday, where it aimed to shine a spotlight on some of the top entrepreneurs in China last year, a time in which the country faced a host of challenges both at home and abroad.

The latest event was the 13th year Yicai Media has held the awards, which have been hailed as China's Oscars of the business world. The selection committee adjusted the selection system and awards this year, and featured a panel of judges from Yicai Media, Fudan University's School of Management and Deloitte China, who analyzed and assessed nominees across a range of criteria.

The tech innovator award was a new addition this year, as well as the business model innovator and young business leader prizes, with the latter awarded to the best entrepreneur under 40.

Yicai Media's Outstanding Business Leaders awards aim to praise the businesspeople who have made major achievements in the ever-changing business environment, encouraged innovation and facilitated healthy and sustainable development of the Chinese economy, said Li Rong, Chief Executive of Yicai Media Group.  

This year's awards and winners were

Technologically Innovative Leader of the Year

Zhou Jian, founder and chief executive of UBTech Robotics

Outstanding Talent of the Year

Zhou Xi, CloudWalk Technology

Business Model Innovator of the Year

Yu Jianjun, co-founder and co-chief executive of Ximalaya

Young Business Leader of the Year

Yang Lei, founder and chief executive of Hello Chuxing

Outstanding Business Leader of the Year

No winner

About Yicai Media Group

Founded in July 2003, Yicai Media Group is China's largest financial media conglomerate and a financial arm of Shanghai Media Group. It aims to become China's most credible and globally influential digital financial media and information service group.

The group has many subdivisions and products, including Yicai New Media, Yicai TV, China Business News, CBN Weekly, the Yicai Research Institute and Yicai Data. In 2016, the group founded its English news arm Yicai Global.