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Improved technology support
Major technological development indicators remained steady in the first half of 2014, with the Zhongguancun National Innovation Zone reporting revenues of 1.1 trillion yuan ($177.4 billion), for an increase of 14.3 percent year-on-year and Beijing's IT industry reporting 179.01 billion yuan, an increase of 9.3 percent. The added value of information transfer, computer services, and software industries reached 83.94 billion yuan, an increase of 12.6 percent, or higher than the GDP growth for the whole city, of 5.4 percent. Scientific research, technical services, and geological studies had added value output worth 83.8 billion yuan, an increase of 9.3 percent. These fields are important for economic growth. Beijing's technology contracts were worth 116.81 billion yuan, an increase of 8.5 percent. There were 32,434 patent applications, an increase of 17.3 percent, with 10,839 approved, a 1.1-percent increase. Surveys show that 108 laboratories and engineering centers were set up in Beijing in the first half, bring the total to 582. Beijing has a total of 9,317 technology companies, accounting for a quarter of the nation's total.
Progress in new industrial development
The focus is on industrialization, services, agglomerating, integration, and lowering Beijing's carbon footprint, which will boost technological innovation and economic growth in the following way:
I. Industrialization
Electronic information
1. New generation of mobile communications and engineering
The appearance of 4G technology has brought a new generation of the mobile communications, and enterprises have made good progress because of it, with 6,000 of these 4G stations being built every month by Datang Mobile Communications and Time Division - Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) technology has been introduced in 16 provinces across the country. In May, Lenovo ranked fourth among all of China's new 4G phones and had a market share of 10.7 percent, while Beijing StarPoint Technology developed terminal tests for 2G, 3G, and 4G technology and is now the biggest supplier of mobile testing equipment.
2. Integrated circuitry
The Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), in Beijing, has developed a 65-nanometer integrated circuit which went into production ahead of schedule, giving the company the world’s fourth largest pure-play IC foundry. The technology has improved the 65-nanometer integrated circuit to 28 nanometers, which is almost among the most advanced integrated circuit technology.
Biomedicines
The G20 Project, Beijing's plan for biomedical industry development, centers on cultivating businesses and introducing both domestic and foreign enterprises in the hopes that, one day, the G20 logo will be a standard symbol of the biomedical industry. Beijing was chosen for the project because of its technological, human resource, and marketing advantages, to name a few. It built a large international public service site and wants to work towards global standards, with the focus innovation for large-scale production.
New materials, nanotechnology
The rapid development of nanotechnology has brought the first carbon nanotube detector that projects infrared images under indoor temperatures, and even more impressive, at the international level. Beijing Nanotechnology Industrial Park has also attracted materials testing centers and self-cleaning material producers and is working on 32 projects, making it a leading nanotechnological base for China.
II. Services
IT
Beijing’s Science and Technology Finance Bureau and the Zhongguancun Administration published a paper, "Promoting Technological Innovation and Strategic Alliances for Development", in 2011, which encourages industry – company alliances in research, chain development, innovation, standardization, brand development, and for international cooperation. Beijing’s Science and Technology Commission has promoted a new generation of mobile communications, building alliances for nationwide electronics, materials analysis and testing centers, digital manufacturing, and open software. The commission pushed the establishment of Innovation Alliance Capital, on Feb 20, as a coalition of hundreds of state and private enterprises, universities, and research institutes for thousands of people to support an open service platform.
Finances
This has the same goal that the Beijing Science and Technology Innovation Center does for taking advantage of Beijing's strategic position and resources, which allow it to support the development of technology through financial policies.
III. Agglomeration
Industrial chains are an important experience in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, which is pushing a bigger, stronger economy, and where, for example, the Yizhuang Development Area has joined the TV and cloud-computing industries, and, as a next step, will create industrial clusters worth hundreds of billions of yuan to increase the strength of high technology and emerging industries.
IV. Integration
Design can depend on the integration of science, technology, culture, art, and socioeconomic factors, backed by intelligence and creativity. Meanwhile, modern technology greatly improves the production and quality of products and has become an important way to integrate Beijing's technology and culture, increase competition between industries, and improve urban life. Beijing is looking for a scientific way to promote the design industry and economic development, and its “Technology + Design” has been a central part of this and studying the difference between “Made in China” and “Created in China”. Chinese design is changing and, by the end of 2013, Beijing already had over 20,000 firms in industrial design, architectural design, circuitry design, and clothing, generating revenues of more than 120 billion yuan. By early 2014, they had 818 million yuan worth of contracts, a real accomplishment for China's emerging design industries.
V. Lowering carbon emissions
The city of Beijing has promoted the use of electric cars to follow the nation’s pollution prevention plan and the city's 2013-2017 clean air plan and has seen good results. It also came up with an action plan for the 2014-2017 period on June 16, as the real opening of the electric car era. This plan also reflects the seriousness of the Beijing pollution issue. Other efforts have been made in times-hare rentals and public transportation improvements to make better use of the city's road network.
The city started with 1,600 electric taxis, in 2011, gradually using them in the suburban districts of Yanqing, Fangshan, Changping, Miyun, Pinggu, Huairou, Tongzhou, and Shunyi. And they have been welcomed greatly by the communities, with most of the taxis driving around 200 kilometers a day. By the end of June 2014, they had driven 65.5 million kilometers and carried 6,185,000 passengers.
These electric taxis are safe and green, convenient, and bring financial benefits. They also have a starting fare of 8-10 yuan and no fuel surcharges, unlike ordinary taxis, possible saving as much as 2,700 yuan a month. If that is indeed the case, then the 1,600 taxis have saved over 5.1 billion yuan by now.
And, assuming the electric taxis drive 60,000 km per year, they can save up to 10.8 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, compared with ordinary motor vehicles. So, the fleet of taxis is cutting about 1.7 million tons of carbon emissions annually.
Edited by Wang Zili and Roger Bradshaw
