China Daily | Advertising Supplement CHINAWATCH Page 5 Special Tech success ‘born out of innovation’

One thing many major Chi- nese tech companies have in common is that they have all made a presence in Shenzhen in South ’s province, a city “born out of innovation”, local officials said. Since it became a special economic zone 40 years ago, Shenzhen has led the develop- ment of new ideas in China and lays claim to many firsts in the country’s history. They include the issuance of the first stock certificate and the establish- ment of the first law firm since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Innovation is regarded as the main engine for development in Shenzhen, where famed enterprises such as drone maker DJI were born and raised. Eight Shenzhen- Shenzhen in Guangdong province has grown from being a lesser-known fishing town into a bustling metropolis.chen xu / for china daily based companies have made the Fortune 500 list, according to the Shenzhen government. Data from the World Intel- lectual Property Organization show that two of the world’s Looking forward after four top 10 corporate filers of inter- national patent applications using the Patent Cooperation Treaty system in 2019 were decades of massive growth from Shenzhen, ranking first and eighth respectively. Younger companies with symbol of the coun- among cities in the Chinese and a length of 984 yards has industries, a higher level of great growth potential such try’s reform and mainland. been a global production cen- civilization, a better environ- as medical device developer A opening-up, Shenzhen Shenzhen had a population ter for electronic products and ment for work, living and Mindray and 3D camera manu- in Guangdong province is a of 13.4 million who had lived the biggest distribution center trips and improved perfor- facturer Orbbec have increased wonderland that has created in the city for at least six con- of electronic components. mance while taking part in their expansion overseas. impressive economic growth secutive months by the end of It has generated a large the country’s Belt and Road For instance, Mindray has over the past four decades. 2019, an increase of 412,200 group of both millionaires Initiative. established a presence in The southern city, origi- people from the year before. and billionaires and served as Fan Gang, an economist Europe and the United States, nally a fishing town with a The average age of the popu- a hotbed for the development and president of the China local media reported. population of just 30,000, lation was 32 years old. of the city’s high technology Development Institute, a At the ceremony of the 21st became one of China’s first Apart from attracting large industry, which has kept its national think , said national Awards for Outstand- four special economic zones multinational companies, the strong innovative capabilities Shenzhen will take on a big- ing Chinese Patented Inven- in August 1980. It has played city has nurtured a group of in the new era of growth. ger historical mission to be a tions and Industrial Designs a leading role among the local companies that have One year ago, Shenzhen pilot demonstrative zone. in July, three Shenzhen-based four SEZs through a series of gained fame in the global was designated by the cen- While its experience accu- companies took home gold incentive policies to attract community, including Hua- tral government as a pilot mulated over the past 40 medals for their invention and foreign investment. That wei, Tencent, ZTE and BYD. demonstrative zone to deep- years has been practiced in utility model patents. investment has spearheaded Another group of companies en reform and opening-up. other cities, it is time for the The city is also strengthen- China’s transition from a are growing globally in their Its position in the Guang- city to set off again on new ing its protection of intellectual planned economy to a mar- sectors, such as drone maker dong-Hong Kong-Macao experiments and endeavors, property, to provide an impor- ket-oriented one. DJI, medical apparatus and Greater Bay Area was also Fan said. tant guarantee for innovation- These policies were applied instruments supplier Mindray highlighted when the plan He suggested the city driven development. to different sectors, including and semiconductor display was unfolded in February improve the private economy, In addition to introducing the managerial autonomy of producer TCL China Star 2019. better protect the rights of new regulations for IP protec- the companies, taxation, land Optoelectronics Technology. According to detailed private businesses and make tion, Shenzhen has established use, foreign exchange control, The Huaqiangbei commer- guidelines launched by the clearer the relations between the Shenzhen Intellectual marketing style and immigra- cial area surrounds the road local government earlier this State-owned enterprises and Property Court and the China tion management. of Huaqiang North in Futian year, the city will target eight private companies. (South) Intellectual Property As a result, outside invest- district, the city’s central sectors and make itself stand While the local government Center, according to the local ment, especially from neigh- business district. It has been out. has been advised to map out government. Many local tech- boring Hong Kong, gave a the site where the dreams The sectors include an incentive measures and regu- nology companies are happy strong impetus to the city’s of many innovative minds international technological lations to encourage innova- with Shenzhen’s work on the economic development. around the world have come innovation center, the inter- tion and create an excellent IP front, saying that IP cases According to official -fig true, for they could find every connectivity of the financial marketing system and capital are quickly resolved, which ures, GDP of Shenzhen was electronic component they markets of Shenzhen and market for startups, Fan said reassures businesses as they less than 200 million yuan need for their new products Hong Kong, the interconnec- the city’s entire community concentrate on research and ($28.7 million at today’s and inventions. tion of the infrastructure, a should be more tolerant of innovation, news website The exchange rate) in 1979. Last Established in 1988, the modern industrial system failure in its efforts to inno- Paper reported. year, it reached nearly 2.7 commercial area along the with global competitiveness, vate. Behind the impressive num- trillion yuan, ranking third road with a width of 66 yards better culture and tourism — ­CHEN HONG bers and innovative achieve- ments are a vast pool of science and technology professionals. From having just a handful sci- Friendly environment attracts global entrepreneurs ence and technology profes- sionals 40 years ago, today Shenzhen is home to 1.84 In its meteoric rise from The drone maker won a spot million of them, according to a small fishing town on the on a list of the world’s top 10 a report by Nanfang Daily on banks of the Pearl River to enter- May 30. being one of China’s most prises in 2019, released by the “Over the past 40 years, the innovative modern metropo- Chinese Academy of Sciences number of science and technol- lises, Shenzhen in southern in January. ogy professionals in Shenzhen Guangdong province has BYD, another Shenzhen- has increased by more than built a reputation as a city headquartered company, has 900,000 times,” an official with perfect for investment and grown from a small workshop the Shenzhen Association for has become one of the most to an international group with Science and Technology told attractive destinations to 220,000 employees. Nanfang Daily. global entrepreneurs. Its businesses cover elec- Underpinning the rapid In the first five months of tronics, vehicles, new energy growth is “the continuous 2020, Shenzhen attracted and rail transit sectors with improvement of industrial contractual foreign invest- more than 100 billion yuan structure, an increasing num- ment worth $6 billion and its ($14.35 billion) in annual turn- ber of innovation entities and paid-in foreign capital totaled over. the talent policies the city has $2.5 billion. A total of 1,611 new A dazzling night view of Shenzhen. The city has been one of the pioneers More than 30,000 R&D introduced in recent years,” foreign-funded companies and front-runners of reform and opening-up in China since it was professionals work at the Guo Wanda, executive vice- were set up in the city during designated a special economic zone 40 years ago. provided to CHINA DAILY company. Its R&D spending president of the China Devel- the same period, according amounted to 8.5 billion yuan opment Institute, told Nanfang to the Commerce Bureau of in 2018. Daily. Shenzhen. al 500 companies have also high-tech Amer International Wei Xing, director of brand As of the end of 2019, Shen- Over the past decade, Shen- established a presence in the Group. communication at BYD, said zhen was home to more than zhen has attracted major city. These Shenzhen-based thanks to Shenzhen’s fair and 17,000 national high-tech foreign investment projects, An official with the Com- companies all attach great friendly market environment, enterprises, second only to Bei- including projects funded by merce Bureau of Shenzhen importance to research and businesses are able to develop jing in China, according to the South Korea’s Samsung Elec- said foreign businesspeople development in innovative rapidly and thrive. Shenzhen government work tronics, U.S. chip giant Intel, are optimistic about the city’s and have made The city continues to report released in January. maker Apple investment prospects espe- marked achievements. improve its business environ- Shenzhen will continue its and Swiss company cially those in high-tech, high DJI, the world’s largest ment by releasing favorable efforts to establish a culture ABB, bringing great business value-added industries. commercial drone maker by policies and providing admin- that respects knowledge and opportunities to the city. Having been closely linked market share, was founded in istrative services online for talent, and provide further sup- As of the end of May, the city with innovation since its estab- 2006 in Shenzhen. The com- local companies. port to the city’s tech profes- had approved 94,168 foreign lishment, Shenzhen is now pany has attracted customers “With government sup- sionals, said the local govern- investment projects in total, home to more than 17,000 from more than 100 countries. port and a complete indus- ment in a letter marking the involving a combined con- national high-tech companies. Through continuous innova- trial chain in Shenzhen, we annual National Science and tractual foreign investment Eight companies on the lat- tion, DJI provides intelligent are confident of developing Technology Workers’ Day on of $294.44 billion and paid- est Fortune Global 500 list are flight control products and rapidly,” said Zhang Ju, CFO May 30, Nanfang Daily report- in foreign investment of $116 from the city, including tele- solutions with advanced per- of Chinese AI pioneer Ubtech ed. billion. com company , inter- formance for the unmanned Robotics. — HU YUYAN A total of 290 Fortune Glob- net company Tencent and aerial vehicle industry. — ­Cao Yingying