Starting the Development of Western Regions, Building up the Guanzhong Hi-tech Industrial Development Zones of Shaanxi Province
Governor Andong Cheng of Shaanxi Province
(March 16th, 2000)
The Guanzhong hi-tech industrial development zones have become a polar of the increasing Shaanxi economy with higher returning of investment, stronger creativity capacity in technology and a more prosperous future. The income from high-tech industry accounted for 18% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in particular, Xi'an hi-tech industrial development zone has driven Xi'an economy to increase by 4% in the last two years. Yangling, as the only agriculture high-tech industries demonstration zone, has been constructed to certain degree. In the development of western regions, Shaanxi province views the new and high technology as the most important factor for the adjustment of economic structure and the development of the four sustaining economic forms with Shaanxi characteristics, and determines to establish the Guanzhong hi-tech industrial development zone as the base for the technological creation and the industrialization of new and high technologies.
A. The establishment of high and new technology industry development zones of middle Shaanxi with Xi'an as the head
Shaanxi is the opening gate into the northwest of China and boasts advantageous geographical location, linking the east to the west and connecting the south to the north. It has not only rich natural and tourism resources, but also enormous technological potential. Shaanxi boasts 870,000 professional technological personnel, 1,072 independent scientific research institutes, more than 7,500 private scientific and technological enterprises, 53 higher educational institutions and nearly 2,000 scientific and research achievement at comparatively higher levels are given to birth annually. The middle plain of Shaanxi entitled with "a prosperous birthplace of civil and military officials of Shaanxi occupying the zones of 4 hundreds of kilometers", is a key scientific and research base in the fields including national aerospace, aviation, weapons, mechanics, electronics, instrument and meter, and farming, in particular, professions take obvious advantages for the high and new technological fields of electronics information, space technology, mechanic-electrical as the whole, biochemical engineering, new material and resources economizing with high efficiency. Manufacturing industry with intense strength formed a comprehensive manufacturing system sustained mainly by mechanics, electronics, fabric, energy, mining, food, medicine, chemical engineering as the core. Therefore, large-sized enterprise groups such as Changqing Petroleum, Shaanxi Electric Power Group, Caihong, Xi'an Airplane Manufacturer, Changling and Huanghe Group, Xi'an Electric Power Equipment Corpration emerged into international competition and cooperation. The first rocket, the first integration chip, the first color picture tube, the first civil plane were given birth here. Hence Shaanxi takes a special role in the fields of the development, research and industrialization of high and new technology.
As to make the best use of the scientific and technological advantages of Shaanxi and accelerate the transformation from high and new technological achievement into real productive forces, we established Xi'an high and new technological industry trial place in May 1988. In 1991, Xi'an high and new technological industry development zone at national level was built up by the approval of the State Council. In 1992, Baoji, Yangling, Xianyang, Weinan, the four high and new technological industry development trial places were established sequentially, which increased the cultivation of Guanzhong high and new technological industry development zones. In 1992 and 1998 repectively, Baoji, Yangling, two development zones were rectified as national high and new technological industry development (demonstration) zones. At present, in Guanzhong hi-tech industrial zones exist 51 high educational institutions and 375 large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, 17 national key labs and engineering technological research centers, 685 high and new technologies enterprises assessed. In the light of "the Resolution to Accelerate the Establishment and the Development of Guanzhong High and New Technological Industrial Development Zones", "the Resolution to Further the Reform of Scientific and Technological System and Speed up Scientific and Technological Industrialization", following were many favorable polices, which promoted the establishment and the development of hi-tech zones forcefully. By the end of 1999, above 3800 items of scientific and technological achievement have been transformn in hi-tech zones of Shaanxi, among which over 2600 items of scientific and technological achievement were being merchandised and industrialized, and nearly 2800 industrial enterprises were cultivated for research and development, including 30 industrial groups involved in the development of high and new technological products. Xi'an hi-tech zone was listed as the top of 53 national hi-tech zones all across China for its successful operation mechanism, development capacity and potential, and became one of the four scientific and technological zones firstly opened up to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC) Organization. Yangling agriculture high-tech industries demonstration zone has accomplished its plans in detail at the first stage and its development and construction are being broadly conducted. Hence, in 1999, its fixed assets of investment amounted to RMB 0.8 billion. Baoji hi-tech zones occupied an area of 470,000 m2 and got the revenue of 13.086 billion yuan in technology, industry and trade.
B. The increasing role of hi-tech zones in driving the development of the Shaanxi economy.
As the base for the development of high and new technological industry and comprehensive reform trial place, Hi-tech zones play a good demonstration role in driving the development in the economy of Shaanxi.
They act as the demonstration and radiating role in the development of regional economy, and promote the adjustment and upgrading of industrial structure. In the hi-tech zones, many national high and new technology industries which have decision-making power of intellectual property are developing speedly, and there come the leading industries involved in electronics information, resources economizing with high efficiency, mechanic-electronics as the whole, bio-medicine, farming with more effective faculty. In 1999, the total income of technology, industry and trade achieved by the hi-tech zones of middle Shaanxi amounted to RMB31.2 billion yuan, and the total industrial output value reached RMB31.8 billion yuan, among which the output value of high and new technological products occupies above 70%. Hi-tech industry has been driving the optimization of the economic structure.
Increase the role of Hi-tech industrial development zones in incubation projects for high and new technological industrialization, accelerating to blaze new scientific and technological trails. Shaanxi attaches the importance on organizing the projects in carrying out important scientific and technological industrialization, in particular, stressing the brooding of high and new technological achievement with decision-making power of intellectual property and the developing in enterprises entitled with "Little Giant" in scientific and technological fields. There arose a variety of 15 productive forces accelerating centers all over Shaanxi, 5 investment service centers of high and new technological enterprises, developing 6,800 high and new technological projects and enterprises. At present in the Hi-tech zones, there are 148 enterprises that the total incomes of technology, industry and trade exceed 10 million yuan, 24 enterprises over a hundred million yuan ,and 3 enterprises more than a billion yuan.
Explore the role in restructuring ,upgrading traditional industries and provide advantageous conditions to the reform of state-owned enterprises. Shaanxi gives a full scope in presenting "Radiating Origin" of hi-tech, mechanism and personnel resources of hi-tech zones. By providing high and new technological achievement to state-owned enterprises, both inside and outside of the zone, transferring high and new technology and promoting the adjustment of product structure and upgrading the whole level, picture tubes with 700 sub-high definition large screen have been put into the mass manufacture developed by Xi'an Jiaotong University and Caihong Group. Furthermore, the industrialized project of numerical controlled machine tools is put into the operation in machine tools factories such as Qinchuan, Baoji, Hanchuan, Hanjiang. Over 30 enterprises using computer integrated manufacturing systems and computer aided design as the exemplary projects have improved the creation and competition capacity in markets..
Establishing the environment of ken-esteem and personnel respect, giving a full scope in attracting excellent personnel to make achievements. Through the nice mechanism and preference policy, hi-tech zones attracted more and more personnel at high level to dedicate their lives to high and new technological industries. Now in Xi'an, there are nearly 45,000 scientific and technological personnel pioneering in hi-tech zones of middle Shaanxi, among which 488 with doctoral degree, 8,000 with associate professors or higher titles, over 130 personnel returning home from developed countries and more than 400 returned from coastal cities in South-east China.
The partially optimized investment environment of hi-tech zones provided successful models in the reform and opening to the outside and attracting business transactions and foreign investments. In hi-tech zones, the infrastructure with functions in a complete set, market environment with relatively complete factors, strong strength in developing technology and the base of science and technology, formed a focus of the opening up and foreign investment. Xi'an hi-tech zones has established 325 enterprises with foreign investment.
C. To the development of Western China, establishing new advantages of high and new technological industrial development zones of Guanzhong.
For the development of Western China, technology and education is given a priority. Accelerating the construction of hi-tech zones of Guanzhong with the head of Xi'an hi-tech zones is the key way in improving Shaanxi comprehensive strength, driving economy as the latecomers surpass the old-timers and realizing the development with leaps in some fields. By 2005, we attempt to make output value reach a hundred billion yuan, making new improvements in blazing the new trails, developing industries and upgrading administrative levels, furthermore, make the zones become the base to blaze trails of the new provincial system, mechanism and technologies and become the silicon valley in the western regions of China. Moreover, these zones play a role in assisting and driving the prospect of science, technology and economy of the western regions in an all-around way.
a.Furthering the strength of the reform and opening up, creating a good environment of development. It is adhered that the opening up promotes the exploration and the exploration seeks the development. We try to catch the historic chances of western regions development and integrate forces, to give a priority to establish the infrastructure construction projects including telecommunication, transportation, cleaning rivers and beautifying mountains in the hi-tech zones of Guanzhong, trying to spend short time in making remarkable improvements in the infrastructure and services functions in Shaanxi provincial hi-tech zones and making Shaanxi 5 Hi-tech zones form a modern municipal group. Last year, under the direction of the National Policies, Shaanxi enacted 38 related policies to protect and support high and new technology. Therefore, in this year, we plan to make new breakthrough in the implement of these policies, and in the establishment of sound service systems linked to international practice, attempting to create new advantages in accordance with high quality service and good investment environment. As to stress on the transaction and cooperation in the field of farming technology, the 7th China Yangling high and new scientific and technological farming achievement fair is held from the 5th to 9th of November in Yangling of Shaanxi, rectified by the National State Council and 16 national ministries including the Ministry of Scientific and Technological, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Farming and Shaanxi people's government, with the sponsorship of the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Educational and Scientific Program and the Word Bank and Europe Union.
b.Supporting in the breeding of enterprises and developing the economy with Shaanxi characteristics. We will concentrate forces on the four cardinal industries with characteristics including hi-tech, tourism, fruit-manufacturing and military industry, especially on 20 key projects in the scientific and technological industrialization, such as mobile telecommunication, full spectrum exchanger, large screen high definition color picture tubes, digital line-scaaning TV, Tongshi green data press system, medical bio-chips, green chemical products for daily use, bioactivity stable products, develop these scientific and technological industries group with decision-making power and the developing capacity and sales value over 1 billion yuan,on the basis of which, 4 to 5 new poster industries are formed.,
c. Establishing the mechanism of investment with risks, improving investment and circulating system of science and technology. Establish loans guarantee capital corporation for medium and smalll-sized enterprises, enterprising capitals of medium and small-sized scientific and technological enterprises, consulting service centers of investment and circulating capital, development capitals and scientific and technological new star capitals for youth. Shaanxi high and new technological industries investment corporation will put into RMB1 billion yuan as the common capitals with a national development bank in the line with operation models of investment with risks and stress on the capital support in the high and new technological industry.
d. Stressing the construction of the infrastructure of new technology, speeding up the industrialization. The key point is to serve the provincial scientific and technological industrialized projects, poster industries and modern farming depending on high institutions, higher institutes, scientific and technological enterprises and enterprises group, organizing telecommunication engineering, color TV, computer software, civil planes, civil satellites, micro electronic engineering, medical electronics, environmental protection detergent, biomedical medicine, biological chips, the modernization of Chinese traditional medicine, farming faculty with high efficiency as the key labs, engineering technological centers and research and development pilot places. We will strongly support 5 hi-tech parks of higher institutions, such as Xi'an Jiaotong University, the construction of the biotechnology park, so as to speed up the development of software park, park for the oversea students, Xi'an airspace and airspace and airplane garden, the exportation of hi-tech products garden.
e. Creating good environment, providing personal protection for the development of the western China. In order to attract scientific and administrative personnel at higher technological levels, it attaches the importance on the implementation of personnel policy, improving competition and incentive mechanism, adopting a variety forms including collaborative development, achievemnt shareholders, power in the administrative terms, rewards regulations, giving a full scope in presenting the prosperous environment and advantages of assistance from overseas students in hi-tech zones, stressing to attract overseas personnel and foreign intellectuals. Furthermore, with the utilization of governmental information internet, it emphasizes the publicizing of personnel policy and personnel information, establishing internet personnel market with links to international levels, making more and more excellent personnel learn about Shaanxi in larger range and encouraging those to be dedicated to the pioneering and developing of Shaanxi.