The rapid development of the hi-tech sector is proving to be a powerful economic growth engine for Zibo, East China's Shandong Province.

"The hi-tech industry, one of the fastest growing sectors in Zibo, has been increasing by 35 percent annually in the past four years, greatly enhancing the city's competitiveness," said Zibo Mayor Zhou Qingli.

There are 353 hi-tech enterprises in Zibo at present, including 29 national key hi-tech enterprises. Altogether, they have been engaged in 365 national and provincial key hi-tech projects, such as National 863 Program and National Key Scientific and Technological Project.

In 2006, the output value of the hi-tech industry reached $13.5 billion, accounting for 29.1 percent of the city's total industrial output value. In the first four months of this year, the hi-tech output value increased 40 percent year-on-year.

As an old industrial city, Zibo has developed a comparatively complete industrial system with heavy industry, petrochemicals and raw materials as the pillar industries. The city's industrial enterprises' fixed assets once constituted one quarter of that of the entire Shandong Province and its industrial output value has been ranked second in the province for a long time.

For many years, Zibo has been devoted to industrial restructuring by promoting technical innovation and developing the hi-tech industry. It has successfully been reformed from a resource-reliant economy into an innovation-driven one, with a shift of focus to the modern hi-tech industry.

Policy environment

Zhou said the city is dedicated to improving the policy environment for the development of the hi-tech industry.

Zibo is the first city in Shandong to draft a plan to guide the development of the hi-tech sector by putting forward a series of supporting policies.

Last year, the "Long-term Development Plan for Science and Technology in Zibo (2006-2020)" was formulated, defining new materials, fine chemicals, and biological pharmaceuticals as the key fields of development.

Hi-tech parks

Zibo's hi-tech industrial parks present the major driving force for the development of its hi-tech industry.

The city has three major hi-tech parks - Zibo Hi-tech Development Park, Qilu Chemical Park and Qicheng Agricultural Hi-tech Development Zone.

At present, Zibo Hi-tech Development Park ranks 12th among the 53 State-level hi-tech development zones in China.

A number of large-scale projects are now under construction in the park, including 57 projects with an investment of more than 10 million yuan each, and with a combined investment of 7.97 billion yuan. Among these, 18 projects involve investments of 100 million yuan each, and a total investment of 6.4 billion yuan.

Qilu Chemical Park is the result of an important cooperation program between the Shandong provincial government and Sinopec Group.

Established two years ago, the park now has three State-level and nine province-level technology development centers. Fifty-nine projects have been set up in the park to date, with a total investment of 8.46 billion yuan. It is expected to become a platform of technical innovation for hi-tech enterprises in the field of chemicals.

Qicheng Agricultural Hi-tech Development Zone is home to over 30 projects with a total investment of more than 600 million yuan. Three industrial chains have been formed in the zone, including vegetables, meat products and dairy products.

New materials base

The new materials sector is one of the most promising industries of the 21st century, said Zhou.

Zibo's authorities perceive the new materials industry as an important part of the hi-tech industry.

The city has advantages in the fields of organic polymer materials and advanced ceramic materials, as well as new fireproof, new metal and nanometer materials.

Zibo is now one of the important bases of high performance special ceramics and structural ceramics in the nation.

By the end of 2006, there were 317 new materials enterprises in Zibo, generating a combined output value of 61.2 billion yuan, accounting for 17.2 percent of the city's total industrial output value.

Traditional industries

In recent years, the hi-tech industry has become an important force for the upgrade of traditional industries in Zibo

During the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), local enterprises invested about $12.2 billion in technical upgrading. As a result, the enterprises upgraded 235,000 sets of equipment, introduced 18,000 sets of advanced equipment, and built 4,250 new production lines.

The city also promotes the application of new technologies and new equipments related to saving energy and environmental protection.

Innovation

Strengthening independent ability for innovation and widening cooperation with domestic and foreign partners are two important ways to ensure Zibo's hi-tech development, said Zhou.

The city's enterprises and individuals applied for 6,544 patents during the 10th Five-Year Plan. The number of patents keeps growing by 15 percent every year. To date, the number of domestic patent applications amounts to 11,565, while approved patents number 6,509.

Zhou added that technical cooperation is an important route for Zibo to improve scientific development and independent innovation.

Since 2002, the city, together with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, has successfully hosted five sessions of "China Zibo International New Material Technology Forum", during which 1,842 technical cooperation projects were signed.

Zibo currently has relations of cooperation with 100 educational and research institutes, both at home and abroad.

(China Daily 05/29/2007 page3)