Host City

Guangdong Special: Guangdong spotlights high-tech for upcoming Games

By Cai Cai (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-30 08:01

Guangdong province has promised to ensure an "Asian Games of science and technology" in its provincial capital Guangzhou this November.

Ye Jingtu, deputy director of the Guangdong provincial department of science and technology, said the local high-tech sector "will certainly provide favorable factors for hosting a grand scientific and technological sports gala".

"The upcoming Asian Games will offer a good platform for Guangdong to showcase its achievements in development of high-tech industries," Ye said.

The international sports event will in turn offer good opportunities for further growth of local light-emitting diode (LED) and other emerging industries, Ye said. Guangdong's LED production was valued over 35 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up more than 80 percent year-on-year.

Widely used LEDs

LED lights and bulbs have been widely used in the sports grounds and gymnasiums for the 16th Asian Games to be held from November 12 to 27.

Guangzhou will be the second Chinese city to host the Asian Games following Beijing in 1990.

Wang Guilin, deputy director of the local science and technology bureau, said the city has invested more than 24 million yuan to develop digital technologies, eco-friendly buildings, intelligent traffic management, renewable energy and security technologies in the run-up to the Games.

High-tech has also been widely used in preparations at competition and training venues for the Games, Wang noted.

According to Ye, Guangdong ranked second in 2008 and 2009 behind only Shanghai on the nation's comprehensive national index of innovation capability. Its high-tech production has maintained the top position nationwide for several years.

"Guangdong has now become not only a major production base, but also a center of R&D and technological innovation in the country," Ye said. To further boost the province's proprietary innovation, Guangdong continues to expand investment in R&D.

In 2009 alone, R&D investment across the province hit 62.5 billion yuan, up 23.9 percent from a year ago . By the end of the year more than 600,000 people were involved in research.

The value of Guangdong's new and high-tech production reached 2.6 trillion yuan in 2009.

Ye said the province has secured a record 11 major scientific projects, 10 percent of the country's total in 2009.

All were part of the ongoing National Basic Research Program - also known as the 973 Program - approved by the central government in 1997 and organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The effort is designed to meet China's major strategic technological needs.

Ambitious target

The provincial government has now earmarked more than 250 billion yuan to help enable technological innovation over three years.

The move aims to help build Guangdong - which borders Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions - into an innovational hub.

The funding is also expected to accelerate Guangdong's industrial modernization and nurture emerging businesses, Ye said.

The province plans to achieve a per capita industrial yield of 150,000 yuan for the entire year of 2012.

According to Li Huiwu, deputy director of the Guangdong provincial development and research center, the provincial economy will be larger than South Korea's in 2012.

It surpassed Singapore in 1998, overtook Hong Kong in 2003 and grew larger than Taiwan's in 2007.

Guangdong's GDP was more than 3.9 trillion yuan in 2009, up 9.5 percent over the previous year.

(China Daily 09/30/2010 page16)