High technology district now influencing zones nationwide

As a national innovation demonstration center, Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park has a mission to lead and drive the development of similar industrial parks across the nation, said Sun Wenkai, chief of the Haidian district government.

"It plays an increasingly significant demonstration role in technological research and scientific transformation," Sun told China Daily.

In 2012, revenues from technical transactions in Haidian district of Beijing surpassed 110 billion yuan ($17.98 billion), accounting for 50 percent of the total in the capital city. Most of the technologies were from companies and institutions in other cities and provinces.

Yufeng Pagoda from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) is a sharp contrast to the modern architecture and mission of neighboring Haidian Science Park. Liu Peien / for China Daily

Sun said it is not mere luck that the park grew from an electronic marketplace into a pioneer in innovation and an international center for technology transfer.

Haidian has "the most intensive elements for scientific creation in China and even in the world", said the senior official.

The district is home to more than 16,000 companies working in various aspects of technology, 4,400 of them fully high-tech, 60 percent of the total number in Beijing.

It has arrangements and joint efforts with 33 prestigious universities that provide 200,000 graduates every year. It has more than 100 research institutions that produce a large number of breakthroughs and important technologies every year.

About 550 top-level academics work in Haidian, 37 percent of the nation's total.

"The district government is working hard to create a good business environment that encourages innovation and tolerates failures," said Sun.

"A series of new corporate incubation models are emerging such as our 'Innovation Works' to nurture companies in mobile Internet and cloud computing, and 'Garage Cafe', a low-cost workplace for entrepreneurial startups," he said.

"Haidian plans to be a pivotal economic powerhouse and a truly world-class high-tech center with international influence by 2020, repeating the success of the Silicon Valley," he noted.

Eliminating polluting and energy consuming traditional companies is necessary to industrial transformation, Sun added, so industries in the district should meet the latest global trends and market demands.

"There is plenty room for technical and ecological development in the north of Haidian district," Sun noted.

He said the district government will build a new science park in the north that will serve national strategic emerging industries such as navigation services, next-generation Internet technologies, biomedicine, integrated circuit design and environmental protection.

According to the plan, by 2015, investment in product research and development by high-tech companies should be raised to 6 percent of the sales revenues. The number of granted invention patents is projected to reach 17,000 yearly.

In addition to traditional financing methods provided to large companies and startups, the district's online financing service carries both products on offer by lenders and the needs of companies.

The government has also implemented a stock rights incentive pilot project and also strengthened support for innovation and talent training by establishing a special fund.

Nearly 1.8 billion yuan was offered in 2012. The figure will be increased to 2 billion yuan this year.

Over 80 percent of industrial output in navigation services in Beijing is by companies in Haidian. The district also boasts 3,000 mobile Internet and next-generation Internet companies with over 100,000 employees. They have formulated 70 international and 600 national standards in their fields.

Since China's first privately run technology company was established in Haidian in the 1980s, tens of thousands of high-tech startups and corporations have mushroomed in the district.

"The Haidian government plays a role of paving the way - supports companies rather than restricts them," Sun said, adding that it is the company that plays a dominant role in technical progress and innovation, not the government.

"We will offer help whenever they need, just like a friend," he noted.

Sun and his colleagues will participate in this year's WEF Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, which will kick off on Sept 11 in Dalian, Liaoning province with theme of "Meeting the Innovation Imperative".

As Sun's first time to attend the large international economic gathering, his "main task is to absorb knowledge and gain more experience by communicating with overseas experts to help accelerate the process in building Haidian into a world-class innovation center," he said.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/11/2013 page15)