Innovation drives high-quality growth of Beijing's tech hub

High-tech companies in Beijing's Zhongguancun, better known as China's Silicon Valley, are spearheading innovation as the country continues to advance high-quality development.

Founded in 2014, Chinese cloud computing platform EasyStack is one of the leading innovators in Zhongguancun Science Park, a national demonstration area for independent innovation.

Over the last six years, the company has seen steep growth from a small team of nine to a professional cloud product and service provider with around 400 employees.

It was not easy to start from scratch, said Chen Xilun, founder and CEO of EasyStack.

The company built up its reputation in the industry by contributing codes to core projects worldwide in its early days, and has more than once made it to the top 10 core code contribution lists, according to Chen.

It is now providing cloud computing solutions to governments and key sectors including finance, telecommunication and energy both at home and abroad.

Chen thinks independent innovation is behind the company's success.

"Cloud computing is the engine of digitalization," said Chen, adding that the company has been committed to independent research and development with a global perspective. "Only with core technology can we have core competence."

China's central authorities have reiterated the core position innovation occupies in the country's march toward modernization in a recently released blueprint for development through 2035. Technological self-sufficiency should be a strategic pillar of the country's development, they say.

"What our company does echoes with the country's call for innovation-driven development," said Chen, promising to step up independent research and development to become a world-class cloud computing company based on an open-source ecosystem.

Sugon, a leading company in the field of server, storage, cloud computing and big data in China, holds the patent for an advanced immersion cooled server.

Because of the use of liquid cooling technology, the server is energy efficient compared with traditional ones, said Ren Jingyang, senior vice-president of Sugon.

"We've never hesitated in pursuing innovation," he added.

Ren said there has been rising confidence among enterprises as the environment for business, innovation and investment in the country kept improving during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period.

Looking forward to the next five years, Ren said the emphasis on innovation by the central authorities is uplifting.

The company will remain determined in walking down the path of technological self-reliance, concentrating on key research and development projects and increasing resource investment to contribute to high-quality economic growth, he added.

Digital building platform provider Glodon is transforming the traditional construction industry by delivering products and services covering the entire life cycle of construction projects.

By adopting digital workflows, the platform helps improve the efficiency of project cost calculation as well as construction.

"Take the use of steel bars for example. Digitalizing the process of cutting, processing and installation can result in more efficient use of raw materials and reduction of waste and pollution," said Chen Xiaofeng, assistant president of Glodon.

Since its founding in Beijing in 1998, the company has placed a high value on technological innovation.

It has invested nearly 30 percent of its annual revenue in research and development over the past five years, Chen said.

In the future, Chen added, the company is ready to contribute more to high-quality development of China's construction industry by making innovation the main driver of growth.

In Zhongguancun Science Park, the beat of innovation never ceases.

"In the next step, we are going to focus on the main tasks of transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, and accelerate our progress toward a leading science park and innovator in the world," said Zhai Lixin, director of the management committee of Zhongguancun.