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03-10-2006 17:45

It has hardware, but is short on software. The labor force is there, but the technology isn't. This used to describe China. But no longer, as business booms in the country's high-tech sectors. Our reporter Wang Xiqing takes us to Zhongguancun, or China's Silicon Valley, in northwestern Beijing, to see how developments there are changing the country's image.

Chinese made, patented, and now dominating the world market. Products like these are no longer rare in Zhongguancun. It's a big boost to the confidence of those in the country's technology sector. And for many returned overseas engineers and entrepreneurs, it's the realization of their ambitions.

Dr. Dace Yang, vice president of Vimicro co., said: "We know how to make chips work in the Silicon Valley, but we felt these chips are done by Chinese but they're made in the US. We want to come back here so that these chips will be made in China. That's our main goal. Because we've seen a lot of things made in China, like shoes and clothes, but not chips. We felt that we can change that image."

Ten years ago, ambitions like this were still dreams. Economic growth depended largely on low-cost, intensive labor forces in manufacturing sectors. Science and technology were mainly for academic purposes, and their discoveries often stayed in laboratories.

Delu Wang, director of Sci-Tech Consultant Assoc., said: "But factors soon gathered to make the impossible possible. Zhongguancun is the home to the country's top universities, and they provided the base for research and human resources. Meanwhile, the country's continuous rapid development created channels for market, information and capital. All these factors combined laid the foundation for the birth of high tech zones."

By the end of 1990s, Zhongguancun became the first state-level high tech zone. Preferential policies encouraged innovation and technological breakthroughs. In five years' time, a number of world class brands emerged. In the area of digital multimedia alone, Chinese chips have conquered 60 percent of the world market.

Dr. Dace Yang said: "In capabilities, we're much stronger than before. In terms of market channels, we know how to do things. We are on the right track of becoming even better. We feel the wheel of success is turning faster. We're confident that the time is more and more on our side. "

Commitment to a high-tech boom goes all the way to the top.

On many occasions, Chinese leaders have stressed the importance of the industry. Innovation is the force boosting the country's global standing.

Delu Wang said: "China has huge economic clout now but still lacks muscle. Technology and innovation are its muscle. And the prosperity in high-tech zones will transform the traditional labor-intensive industries, and making the readjustment to a more competitive growth path. The model of Zhongguancun represents the future of China."

Whether in terms of scale or output, Zhongguancun is now China's leading high-tech base. And its experience is being copied across the country.

Twenty years ago, Zhongguancun was a sleepy street in the capital's university quarter. Today, it's hard to define boundaries, with the area's rapid expansion. It's the manifestation of a common hope for many Chinese - that is, one day, made in China means made by China.

 

Editor:Wang Ping