Xi'an high-tech zone fosters massive growth and employment

Goal of development area is to become 'world-class' in science and technology

Since its establishment, the Xi'an Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone has prioritized innovation and charted new paths to achieve high-quality growth, local officials said.

In the past year, the number of patent applications in the zone exceeded 40,000 and the value of technology transactions reached 46 billion yuan ($7 billion). The zone's scientific and technological innovation has achieved remarkable results.

Ma Xianping, deputy mayor of Xi'an and Party secretary of the zone, said: "Focusing on innovation-driven development, the Xi'an high-tech zone is aiming to be a world-class science and technology park."

Ma said enhancing scientific and technological support for modernization is necessary for the zone to attend to the major needs of the country.

Adhering to the concept of openness and innovation, the zone has optimized its business environment by introducing first-class enterprises including Samsung, Johnson &Johnson, General Electric, Huawei, ZTE, BYD and other Fortune Global 500 companies.

A total of 88 innovation institutions have settled in the zone as well as 328 research and development institutions.

Twenty-six international innovation platforms have been built and 37 foreign R&D institutions have been introduced.

The zone is home to 3,182 high-tech companies, 2,434 small and medium-sized enterprises, 214 gazelle enterprises and one unicorn company.

The zone and Xi'an city government have jointly established the Xi'an Science and Technology Market to promote market-oriented allocation of its innovative resources. The science and technology market has been home to more than 700 third-party service organizations, 14,553 sets of shared equipment, 19,401 industry experts, 7,325 scientific and technological achievements, and information on 7,734 scientific and technological enterprises.

It also launched an innovative voucher service platform and used the model to provide subsidies for small, medium and micro-sized enterprises and entrepreneurial teams to use shared equipment.

"We must create a social atmosphere that respects talent, innovation and creation while stimulating the vitality of various subjects," Ma said. "We must also provide solid technological support for accelerating the construction of a world-class science and technology park."

The zone has enacted a series of favorable policies including the Three Entrepreneurship and Ten Talents for Hardcore Science and Technology Innovation. It has also cultivated 1,580 specialized workers and introduced more than 700 foreign experts.

The zone will continue to develop as an important carrier for young people to start their own businesses.

The number of entrepreneurs has reached 653,000 and future development of both Xi'an and the entire province provides a steady stream of potential power.

In 2021, the zone will build the national independent innovation demonstration zone and the hardcore technology innovation demonstration zone.

Through the introduction of several measures for supporting hardcore technology innovation, the zone plans to set up a special fund of 900 million yuan.