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Zhongguancun driving the Beijing's economic growth
By Liu Yiyi ( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2015-07-21

The general revenue of Zhongguancun Science Park maintained double digit growth for the past four years, according to statistics from the Zhongguancun Administrative Commission.

The science park also plays an important role in driving economic development in Beijing. The science park's contribution to the city almost doubled from 23.2 percent in 2011 to 41.7 percent in 2014.

Beijing's high energy consumption and heavy pollution have been replaced by the new features of Zhongguancun – high-end, high efficiency, and wide coverage. The science park has officially become a major pillar for Beijing's economic development.

"The number of unicorn companies in China is rising and will outnumber the ones in the US. Zhongguancun Science Park will become the super power of China in the future," said Li Kaifu, a mentor for Chinese entrepreneurs, sharing his experience in venture capitals.

Li has been on executive positions in the headquarters of global companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft. He thinks highly of Zhongguancun.

"Unicorn companies" refer to start-ups in preliminary stages with over $1 billion estimated value. Becoming a member of the "Unicorn Club" is the dream of all entrepreneurs. The world is astonished by the development and number of unicorn companies in the science park.

In the electronic information and Internet industries, unicorn companies are experiencing more and more rapid development. Lenovo, founded 20 years ago in a single office in Zhongguancun, has become the largest computer seller in the world with annual sales of 10 billion yuan ($1.61 billion). Baidu, founded in 2000, became the largest search engine in the country in only a decade. Xiaomi, founded in 2010, took only three years to become a world leader in Internet based smart phones.

The American technological marketing research institution CB Insights released a list of 102 unicorn companies around the world. Xiaomi ranked near the top with $46 billion in value. A total of 11 companies were from China, just behind the US. Five of them – Xiaomi, Didi-Kuaidi, Meituan, Vancl, and Koudai - were based in Zhongguancun Science Park.

Six high tech industries - electronic information, renewable energy, biomedicine, environmental protection, manufacturing and new materials – have become new engines to drive the science park and to give birth to more unicorn companies.

The science park earned a total of 987 billion yuan ($159 billion) from these industries listed above in the first five months of the year, more than 80 percent of the total and a rise of 13.6 percent from last year.

The six industries overgrew 2.4 percent faster than average. Electronic information and energy industries contributed 88 percent of the science park's development, and have already become the major driving force of the science park.

A string as thin as hair that can lift a grand piano, a mobile phone so light and thin that it can be folded, and so on. These amazing technologies are realized by a new material called graphene - the technology based on the thinnest and strongest nanometer material. Graphene technology has been launched in the Zhongguancun Science Park Fengtai Sub-Park in Beijing.

The first graphene energy conservation modifier was developed in the Zhongguancun Science Park Fengtai Sub-park. Launched by Beijing Tanshiji Technology Corporation, the product can be used in automobiles, vessels, and computer programs. In experiments, the product improved dynamic performance for all automobiles and reduced gas usage by 10 percent.

The science park believes that only high efficiency can bring sustainable development. The idea has boosted the development of advanced and high tech industries in the Fengtai Sub-park.

Last September, a global cooperative program on strategic new materials was launched in the Fengtai Sub-park, which was the first global event focusing on graphene in Beijing. In order to promote the graphene industry, a Graphene Industrial Park is being planned and will be established soon.

The new industrial park will emphasize mechanical engineering, new energy automobiles, information technology, energy conservation, environmental protection, rail transportation, display technology, aviation, and marine programs.

In addition, Fengtai Sub-park will further improve industrial foundations, including urban railways, integration of military and civilian technologies, emergency management, energy conservation and environmental protection.

Supported by strategic emerging industries, Fengtai Sub-park experienced steady economic growth in recent years. All of the major economic indexes grew by over 25 percent per year.

Fengtai Sub-park earned around 370 billion yuan ($60 billion) of general revenue last year. Total fiscal revenue reached 2.5 billion yuan ($403 million), an increase of 17 percent. The science park takes up less than one percent of the total area of Fengtai District but contributes 25 percent of its total fiscal revenue and more than half of the district's import and export volume. The major indexes ranked at top among the sub-parks of Zhongguancun.

Zhongguancun contributed between 23 and 41 percent of the city's economic growth for every year from 2011 to 2014, according to the statistics by the Zhongguancun Administrative Commission. Each employee in the science park created added value of 246,000 yuan ($39,631) on average. The gross production volume per capita in Beijing was 100,000 yuan ($16,110) in 2014.

Entrepreneurs in areas outside Zhongguancun Entrepreneurship Street are able to enjoy the complete and systematic services provided by the science park. In Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, the e-Valley Incubator serves as the Zhongguancun Entrepreneurship Street.

Founded by an incubator based in Zhongguancun Science Park, the e-Valley Incubator has received great support from the Beijing and Qinhuangdao governments and has successfully copied the the science park's format to Hebei province.

The entrepreneurs in Qinhuangdao can enjoy the same services as Zhongguancun. The business ecosystem of Zhongguancun has been copied to many places in Hebei and Tianjin.

The business ecosystem has expanded all over the country, and the atmosphere in the science park remains positive. The number of new technology companies reached 8,577 from January to May, increasing 2,017 from the first four months of the year.

Among Forbes' list of the top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 years, nine of them were leaders of corporations based in the science park, taking up 70 percent of the total from Beijing and one third of the entire list.

The science park has also developed new patterns and ideas to bring in resources for a global equity crowd funding center. The center will make the science park a place for global resources, intelligence, and high end talent.

Equity right crowd funding is a way to receive rapid financing. Major equity right crowd funding platforms include 36 Kr and JD.com. The entrepreneurs not only receive capital support, but also talent and resources.

Guo Hong, director of the Zhongguancun Administrative Commission, gave the example of Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Technology. After founding the KingSoft Corporation, Lei was able to found a new start-up using his own capital instead of searching for help from the angel investors. He planned to search for resources through crowd funding, according to Guo.

The science park will become the center of the global equity right crowd funding relying on accumulated innovation, entrepreneurship, angel investments, financial services, and preferential policies.