News

HSP: Evolving to urban innovation center

By Yang Cheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-13 08:26

Advantages

The top advantage for the area to achieve its goals is unique and vigorous policy support and opportunities forthcoming spurred by its leading innovation capacity.

The area also has a naturally endowed environment of innovation with the largest number of prestigious universities and academies in the nation centered in Haidian, home to half of Beijing's university students.

The district has 251 central and city-level research institutes and 36 percent of all academics in the Academy of Science and Academy of Engineering Science. Together they comprise about 60 percent of the total academics living and working in Beijing.

In another development, some enterprises have forayed onto the international scene to merge with or acquire overseas firms including PC maker Lenovo and Beijing Oriental Electronics Technology Group.

The area's private companies - including management software maker UFIDA and Redflag, developer of a Chinese-language office software - have teamed with leading multinationals to establish research and development centers.

The Dawning 5000A computer born in the HSP ranks second in the top 500 high-performance computers in the world.

A total of 124 companies based in the science park have gone on to overseas listings, including Baidu, Vimicro and OriginSeed, helping the area earn the name "China's Silicon Valley".

Private enterprises in HSP have long been at the frontier of international advanced technologies and have widely joined the business and research operations of leading transnational companies.

The cutting edge high-tech environment is enriched by the area's history and scenery, including ancient imperial resorts such as Xiangshan Park, the Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan Park and Crouching Buddha Temple.

Efforts

To fulfill the dream of building a technology innovation center with international influence and rise even higher as a site for global research and development, the latest blueprint calls for the northern part of HSP to become home to new industries in software, information technology, new materials, new energy, environmental protection and pharmaceutical engineering.

Planning and construction of auxiliary facilities including transportation, administrative services and residential complexes are now underway.

Plans also include better quality services and amenities along with continued emphasis on education, which together are expected to injecting new vigor in higher learning and research.

The area's industrial output is projected to surpass 10 trillion yuan and be a major driver of economic growth in Beijing.

Well-developed services for finance, science, information and equity exchange are also expected to help the area meet a projected industrial output of 10 trillion yuan.

Plans also call for popular tourism resorts in the northwest of Beijing to be improved and further integrated. In addition to ancient royal family resorts, Dajue Temple, Jiufeng Peak, Fenghuangling Mountain and Yangtai Mountain will be included in an overall tourism development blueprint.

In the south of the HSP, a range of high-end commercial services will be fomented and areas developed for the creative industry.

As a result, exhibitions, conventions, arts, sports and entertainment facilities are expected to cater to the rising demand from modern enterprises and local citizens.

"The answer to the question of how to become internationalized can only be found in a real international environment," Zhao said.

Statistics show that during the first half of this year, the GDP in Haidian district hit up 14 percent year-on-year.

(China Daily 09/13/2010 page)