Introduction
Xi'an High-Tech Park (XAHTP) is
located in Xi'an. It was authorized as a national
high-tech park in March 1991, and eventually
became a special high-tech park open to APEC
member nations.
The total development area of the Park is
around 34 km2. It is 7 km from the
downtown district, 11 km from the railway station
and 35 km from the airport. The development focus
is on electronics, information technologies,
optical- electronicmechanical engineering,
biopharmaceuticals and software development.
XAHTP consists of several subsidiary parks,
including the Electronic Industrial Park, Chang'an
Technology Park, Xi'an Software Park, Hi-tech
Export Processing Base, Xi'an Jiaotong University
Science Park, Northwest Polytechnic University
Science Park, Biopharmaceutical Park and Advanced
Material Science Park.
Since its establishment in May 1998, the
Entrepreneurship Park for Overseas Chinese
Students has attracted over 400 overseas students
to start their businesses in the Park.
Located within Xi'an High-Tech Park, the
Xi'an Software Development Park (XASDP) is divided
into a 2.5-ha Incubation Zone and a 12-ha
Industrial Zone. In the latter, there is an
international conference center, a training
center, a software-testing center, offices of high
standard, residential apartments, sports and
entertainment centers.
The total planned area of Xi'an Jiaotong
University Science Park (JTUSP) is about 68 ha.
The development focus is on information
technology, biomedicine, new energy and
environmental protection technologies. Key
buildings here include Boyuan Mansion,
International Technology & Education Mansion
and International Technology & Incubation
Plaza.
Investment
Climate
Xi'an's rich human resources have
become XAHTP's biggest asset. At the end of 2003,
there were nearly 40 higher education institutions
(including universities and advanced vocational
and technical colleges). There are many famous
universities, such as Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Northwestern University and Northwestern
Polytechnic University.
At the end of 2003, there were 400,000
undergraduates studying in Xi'an. In 2003, 65,000
undergraduates and postgraduates graduated. Xi'an
is ranked either third or fourth in China in terms
of human resource.
The development of XAHTP has been rapid. By
the end of 2003, accumulated number of approved
projects exceeded 6,000. High-tech enterprises
numbered nearly 1,000, while about 500 FIEs had
set up in XAHTP. In 2003, total sales revenue and
total industrial output of all member enterprises
was RMB 61.6 billion (USD 7.45 billion) and RMB
39.3 billion (USD 4.75 billion) respectively. The
GDP of the Park was around RMB 16.1 billion (USD
1.95 billion).
XAHTP has become the most important growth
engine of Xi'an. Although the enterprises in XAHTP
are generally small in size, some big players are
emerging. In 2003, the Park had six enterprises
with annual sales of over RMB 2 billion (USD 240
million) and 12 enterprises with sales of over RMB
1 billion (USD 120 million). XAHTP has started to
gain the favour of MNCs too. Major MNCs who have
established affiliates in the Park include Bosch,
Brothers Daikin, NEC, Fujitsu and Microsoft.
In June 2003, Infineon set up a R&D
center in XAHTP. It was the first Infineon R&D
center in China, and the biggest in Asia. In fact,
Infineon was the first MNC to set up a regional
R&D center in XAHTP. Thus, it was viewed as a
breakthrough for XAHTP.
By the end of 2003, utilized foreign
investment reached USD 644 million. XAHTP
accounted for about 40% of total utilized FDI in
Xi'an in 2003. Yet the Zone is still lagging
behind other development zones in the Coastal
Region.
A relatively complete incubation system has
come into being in XAHTP. The Zone has become an
attractive option for returned overseas scholars.
More than 400 software enterprises have
joined the Park, accounting for 90% of all
software enterprises in Xi'an. In addition, there
are a total of 40,000 personnel professionals
working in the Park.
Prominent companies here include Xi'an
Seastar Group Xi'an SynchroSoft Co. Ltd, Xi'an
Future Software Co, Xi'an Bit Service Computer
Software Co and Xi'an Golden Leaf NWPU Software
Co. Products from these companies are widely used
in fields like telecommunications, internet
service providers, operating systems, info
security, CAD/CAM, database application, GIS and
CTI.
Major international corporations have also
joined the Park, including IBM, HP, Philips, NEC
and Fujitsu. In particular, Fujitsu aims to
develop its global R&D base here into its
largest and employ more than 1,000 professionals.
In 2002, its total sales reached RMB 3.4 billion
(USD 410 million).
