Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park, China;s Silicon Valley, has been blazing a new trail in combining science and technology with economic development.

A pathfinder for deepening reform

From the "Zhongguancun Electronics Street" in the early 1980s to a national independent innovation demonstration zone approved by the State Council in March 2009, Zhongguancun ushered in a new chapter in the establishment of high-tech zones, setting up science and technology parks and building independent areas for innovation demonstrations.

Zhongguancun witnessed the establishment of the first private technology enterprise in China, the first enterprise without a specified scope of business, the first limited partnership investment institution and the first local legislation for science and technology parks.

In recent years, Zhongguancun has successively implemented such reform pilots as foreign exchange management for overseas M&As as well as investment-loan linkage, and gradually promoted them to the whole country.

These pilots have brought forth a set of policy systems that promote transformation of scientific and technological achievements and motivate scientists and technicians.

A major platform for independent innovation

Zhongguancun has spared no efforts to enhance independent innovation capability and accelerate the transformation of scientific achievements and industrialization.

The demonstration zone has successively overcome such technological challenges as a laser phototypesetting system of Chinese characters, the Shuguang supercomputer, Chinese search engines, 5G mobile communication, artificial intelligence chips, driverless platforms, graphene material preparation and targeted immunity.

These above-mentioned core technologies have produced a large number of enterprises with international competitiveness.

In 2017, the number of patent applications from enterprises in Zhongguancun reached 74,000, 43,000 of which have been granted. The number of effective invention patents from Zhongguancun exceeded 80,000 for the first time and the number of PCT international patent applications amounted to 3,652.

A base for opening up to the outside world

Giving full play to its rich talent resources, Zhongguancun has also extended its influence across the country.

Zhongguancun has established 23 cooperation science parks or bases of achievements transformation outside Beijing, and enterprises in Zhongguancun have set up over 12,000 branches outside Beijing.

Zhongguancun is home to over 300 regional headquarters or R&D centers of multinational corporations. The number of foreign employees here is nearly 10,000, the number of overseas returnees exceeds 30,000, and the number of returned experts in the "1000 talents plan" is 1343, or 19 percent of the country's total.

The Zhongguancun Management Committee has set up 10 overseas liaison offices in Silicon Valley and other places, and enterprises in Zhongguancun have established nearly 1000 R&D centers or branches overseas.

With its international influence improving continuously, Zhongguancun has become a significant link in the global innovation network.