Technology future charted to further boost economy

A three-year action plan listing key tasks for 2018-20 was recently approved by the city government. These include a "Made in China 2025" National Demonstration Zone, Zhuhai Intelligent Industrial Park, and optoelectronics park.

Under the plan, Xiangzhou District is to become a high-end industry cluster, with construction of Sci-Tech Innovation Small Town to begin in the third quarter of this year. The town, encompassing the villages of Lixi, Fuxi, and Nanxi in northern Qianshan, is to be another major driving force for the economy.

In Zhuhai, companies doing more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in main business can claim subsidies in accordance with district, municipal, and provincial rules after completing technology upgrades. It is projected that there will be a 20 percent increase in investment used for upgrades and the installation of 6,200 industrial robots by 2020.

National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in Tangjiawan  [Photo by Li Jianshu / Zhuhai Daily]

Within three years, the city expects to have more than 1,800 High & New-Technology Enterprises, including 24 listed on the stock market, and 60 innovative and entrepreneurial teams using core technology. Also, R&D input would account for 4 percent of GDP with high-tech product value constituting more than 60 percent of the value of total industrial output.

There is also expected to be 350 filed venture capital agencies, more than 400 provincial-level innovation platforms, and more than 55 invention patents for every 10,000 residents.

At least three unicorn companies are expected to join Meizu Technology in benefiting from Zhuhai's innovative business environment by 2020. More than 30 firms and 150 seed-stage businesses are said by the city government to have potential as unicorns. Meizu is a leading Chinese smartphone maker located in the Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Tangjiawan), defined as a unicorn company due to a valuation in excess of $1 billion.