Oriented to the market, China's new and high-tech development zones have increased their economic returns by 100 fold over the past decade through constantly making innovations and creations. They have evolved into important bases for the development of China's new and high-tech industries and become a new point of economic growth.

In 1991, to meet the challenge of worldwide new technological revolution and develop China's new and high-tech industries, the State Council officially approved the establishment of the first batch of 26 State-level new and high-tech development zones, and issued a series of related policies. In 1992, another 25 new and high-tech zones were approved. In 1997, the construction of the Yangling New and High Agro technology Development Zone was approved. At present, together with the Beijing New Technology Experimental Zone, there are 53 State-level new and high-tech zones in the country.

New and high-tech zones represent a product of reform and opening-up. Their construction and development conform to the current trend of the new technological revolution and international competition, and constitute an important measure to implement the strategy of developing China through science and education in the new historical period, to accelerate economic construction and structural readjustment, and to realize fundamental changes in both the economic structure and the mode of economic growth. After 10 years of construction and development, the new and high-tech zones have made gigantic progress in reform and development, in construction of an innovative system and of the enterprise incubation capacity, in fostering innovative personnel and in making important contributions to attaining the second-stage strategic objective of China's socialist modernization drive.

1. Important Bases for the Development of China's New and High-Tech Industries and a New Point of Economic Growth

Through constantly improving their soft and hard environment, China's new and high-tech zones have created good conditions for scientific and technological innovation and industrialization, and concentrated a large number of new and high-tech enterprises with distinctive features and strong competitive capacity. According to statistics, by the end of 2000, China's new and high-tech zones had registered 20,796 enterprises, including 1,252 with an annual output value exceeding 100 million yuan, 143 with an annual output value surpassing 1 billion yuan and six with an annual output value topping 10 billion yuan. In 1991, however, there were only seven enterprises with an annual output value exceeding 100 million yuan. Some famous high-tech enterprises have developed rapidly in the new and high-tech zones, such as Legend, Stone, Founder, Huawei, Zhongxing and Di'ao.

The new and high-tech zones have brought the role of science and technology as primary productive forces into full play, and have recorded exceptional progress, with the annual increase of their major economic indexes surpassing 60 percent. In 2000, the 53 State-level new and high-tech zones yielded 920.9 billion yuan in technology-industry-trade incomes, 794.2 billion yuan in total industrial output value, 46 billion yuan in financial revenue, and US$18.6 billion in foreign exchange earnings from export, up 106 fold, 112 fold, 118 fold and 103 fold respectively on 1991. In 2000, their industrial added value totaled 197.9 billion yuan, a rise of 50.3 billion yuan on 1999 and making up 24 percent of the national total. The new and high-tech zones, featuring rapid development, high economic returns, strong innovative capacity and great development potential, have become a new point of economic growth in related provinces and municipalities. Over the past two years, the new and high-tech zones have achieved initial results in implementing the strategy of developing trade through science and technology and developing an export-oriented economy, which has promoted the rapid growth of China's export of high-tech products and the optimization of the product mix of exports. Of the total income of new and high-tech zones, the proportion of foreign exchange earnings from export has kept growing on an annual basis, from 15 percent in 1996 to the present 20 percent. In 2000, the new and high-tech zones' foreign exchange earnings from export totaled US$18.6 billion, up 56.1 percent on 1999.

2. Pioneers in Reform and Opening-Up

Gearing to the market, China's new and high-tech zones have carried out all-round reforms in scientific and technological management, economic and administrative systems and, in line with the requirement for the establishment of a socialist market economy, have promoted the reforms of property right, distribution, labor, personnel and social security systems and the establishment of a modern enterprise system. The new and high-tech zones practice the management mode of special economic zones and open operational mechanisms, which provides preconditions and important guarantees for the rapid development of new and high-tech zones. Over the past 10 years, the State and local governments have exerted great efforts to build a new-type management system and market-oriented operational mechanisms that are suitable to the development of new and high-tech industries. For instance, the administrative committees of new and high-tech zones are granted provincial-level management powers and part of administrative functions regarding planning, construction, land use, finance, industrial and commercial administration, taxation, examination and approval of projects, labor and personnel, and imports and exports. The new and high-tech zones have made great progress in streamlining administrative structure, strengthening service and simplifying formalities. They have built a management and service system featuring "small organs and extensive service'', and have created successful experiences such as "one-stop'' or "one-net'' management and "one-line'' coordinated service.

3. Major Bases for Transforming Scientific Results and Incubating New and High-Tech Enterprises

The new and high-tech zones have become major bases for electronic information, new materials, new medicine, bioengineering and other emerging industries. In the IT industry, about 50 to 80 percent of high-tech products, such as program-controlled exchange, optical-fiber cable, computer and related devices, software and network products, are produced by enterprises based in new and high-tech zones. This has forcefully supported China's informationization drive. In recent years, nearly 6,000 research results of the provincial-municipal level or above have been industrialized in new and high-tech zones, and high-tech products with independent intellectual property rights or enterprise-owned technology make up more than 80 percent of the total products of new and high-tech zones.

A great number of China's nearly 300 scientific and technological enterprise incubators are located in new and high-tech zones. These incubators provide sites, facilities, consultation and other services for scientific research personnel and students returned from overseas to establish small or medium-sized technology-based enterprises, organize venture investment, and actively help these enterprises open financing channels. This has effectively promoted the integration of technology, capital and commodity, and that of universities or scientific research institutes, enterprises and market. According to statistics of 110 incubators, the combined incubating area has reached 1.888 million square meters, the incubating fund has totaled 500 million yuan, and 5,293 enterprises are in the process of incubation. Up to now, 1,934 enterprises have been hatched, creating 164,000 job opportunities.

4. Radiation Sources in Transforming and Upgrading Traditional Industries

New and high-tech zones have fully exerted their influences as radiation sources of technology, mechanism and talented people. They use new and high technologies and non-public ownership mechanisms to enliven, transform and upgrade traditional industries, forcefully promoting the attainment of the objectives of "upgrading old enterprises, nurturing new industries and building large enterprises''. The enterprises based in new and high-tech zones, through contracting, renting, shareholding transformation and merger, have reorganized and optimized production factors of traditional enterprises and injected technologies, fund and new managerial mechanisms in them. This has resulted in the dissemination and application of a large number of scientific results in traditional industries, the technological upgrading of traditional industries, and the improvement of regional industrial structures.

The Chongqing Qingling Auto Group and the Suzhou New and High-Tech Zone are two successful examples. In the early 1990s, the former, through introducing international sophisticated technologies and equipment, established or renovated seven enterprises of world advanced levels, including the Chongqing Qingling Foundry Co., the Auto Axle Co. and the Mould Co. The effort helped quickly raise the quality of the company's auto parts to world advanced levels and expand the market of its products. In 1999, the IT industry in the Suzhou New and High-Tech Zone yielded 17.2 billion yuan in output value, accounting for 72.7 percent of the zone's total. The industry has become a pillar of the regional economy, playing a radiation role in the industrial restructuring of the city of Suzhou as a whole.

5. Important Bases for Attracting and Fostering Talents for the Industrialization of China's New and High Technologies

The new and high-tech zones have formulated a series of special policies to attract and utilize talented people, strengthened the protection of intellectual property rights and striven to safeguard the rights and interests of innovators and startups, in an effort to create a situation of respecting knowledge, respecting talent, boldly utilizing and promoting excellent people, and encouraging the emergence of talented young people. In the new and high-tech zones there are about 2,000 enterprises established by scientific and technological personnel from universities and scientific research institutes. Among the 2.51 million employees, one-third have a college education or above, 350,000 hold intermediate or senior professional titles, more than 30,000 hold masters' degrees and over 4,000 have doctors' degrees. The new and high-tech zones also have attracted nearly 5,000 students returned from abroad. The zones have become ideal habitats for new and high-tech talents.

6. Advancing Toward New Communities of the New Era Featuring Both Material and Cultural Prosperity

Most of the new and high-tech zones have complete transportation, communication, power supply and other infrastructure facilities for industrial development, providing essential hardware conditions for the development of new and high-tech industries. By the end of 1999, the 53 State-level new and high-tech zones had completed the construction of 73.24 million square meters of structures. Many new buildings have added charm to the cities where they are located. The new and high-tech zones, attaching importance to promoting cultural and ethical progress, have exerted great efforts to build new communities featuring cultural prosperity and coordinated development of culture, education, public health, civil administration, physical culture and tourism. Especially, the new and high-tech zones have made constant progress in supporting education and enlivening the people's cultural life.

During the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-05), following the fundamental changes in the international political, economic and scientific and technological environment, the State will exert gigantic effort to promote strategic economic restructuring, accelerate the development of new and high-tech industries, and upgrade traditional industries. All this will set new and higher demands on State-level new and high-tech zones. To meet the demands, the new and high-tech zones, based on existing development foundation and experiences, will continue to make innovations and creations, and strive to make new contributions to the implementation of the two strategies of "developing China through science and education'' and "sustainable development'' and to the optimization of the country's economic structure. By 2005, the new and high-tech zones are expected to bring in 1,700 billion yuan in technology-industry-trade incomes, 1,400 billion yuan in total industrial output value, and US$30 billion in foreign exchange earnings from export. They will strive to make greater breakthroughs in electronic information, software, bioengineering, optical-electromechanical, new materials, new energy and environmental protection industries.