High-tech park rethinks future

Zhang also knows the government's role has limits. She said instead of telling corporations what to do, the administrators should be a supporting and consulting body that provides links among numerous firms.

For example, in 2009, the Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone was founded as the first of its kind in the country, with endorsement from the State Council.

The establishment of the zone was designed to encourage enterprises to try out new measures and pilot projects. The zone also encouraged firms in this park to expand overseas.

But Zhang said even three years before 2009, she was thinking about supporting corporations' overseas ambitions. That year, she established a fund to promote this endeavor. The three-year trial project, the first of its kind among the numerous high-tech zones in China, offered an initial 5 million yuan to support corporate activities such as purchasing internationalization-related intermediary service and international personnel exchanges.

A number that could demonstrate the dividend from internationalization is: before receiving the funds, the total sales of enterprises stood at 22.1 million yuan. After the fund, total sale income soared 378 percent to 105.7 million yuan.

"The enterprises that received funds from us could also use them to prove to overseas investors that they have the government's blessing," Zhang said.

She said at present, many enterprises in HSP have a strong desire to "go global", but they need the correct approach.

Internationalization, Zhang warned, is not about how much they have invested overseas, but the mentality of the entrepreneurs who run the companies.

Now Zhang is spending much of her effort on upgrading a platform named iBridge. iBridge integrates blogs, communities, RSS and other Web 2.0 devices.

Martin Grossman, a professor with Bridgewater State College, said iBridge is "an emerging global knowledge management platform".