Metropolis to lead national strategy through innovation

Chengdu embraces its past and high-tech future to implement civil-military initiative

Chengdu, capital of China's southwest Sichuan province, is shedding its image as a traditional military industrial base to become one of the country's rising stars in innovation, thanks to China's civil-military integration strategy.

Beijing Venustech Inc, a leading provider of network security solutions, has upgraded its Chengdu branch to the status of subsidiary and located it in Chengdu Science City, a hub of new technology, industry and business in the Tianfu New Area, China's 11th national-level development area.

The Chengdu branch previously served as the marketing platform for Beijing Venustech's operations in Southwest China, while the subsidiary now operates as the company's research and development center and marketing hub for its business operations in western China, said Wang Rui, deputy general manager of the subsidiary.

In addition to focusing on traditional information safety, the subsidiary also works on the research and development of cloud security, big data security and industrial control system security solutions, said Wang.

The company moved into an office building by Xinglong Lake in Chengdu Science City in January this year.

The building has a total area of 7,000 square meters and about 300 employees.

"Our company is encouraging its research staff in Beijing to come to Chengdu and we are also employing new staff from local universities in Chengdu," Wang said, adding that he expects the company's total number of employees in Chengdu to reach 1,000 in three years.

Wang said Chengdu is crucial to his company because it has a solid industrial foundation with regard to network information security, and the local universities, such as Sichuan University and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, provide a large talent pool.

Wang's company has also established cooperation with both Sichuan University and Chengdu University of Information Technology to train professionals and push technological development, he said.

The local authorities' focus on and strong support of high-tech companies in the Tianfu New Area is also a major reason why Chengdu is so important for his firm, he added.

Wang said he is optimistic about the development of emerging industries in Chengdu.

"Chengdu has a highly developed military industry," he said.

"As China pushes forward civil-military integration and the local government strengthens support, the city has seen rapid development in industries such as big data, mobile internet, cloud computing and internet of things."

A growing number of high-tech companies, institutes and R&D centers are gathering in Chengdu Science City.

Chengdu signed an agreement with Beihang University in August 2016 to construct seven innovative projects in the Chengdu Tianfu New Area, the city's Xindu district and Pengzhou city.

The largest project, called the Beihang Western International Innovation Port, will be located in Chengdu Science City, with a total investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion).

The project includes an innovation institute, an innovation park, a graduate school and an international exchange center.

The innovation institute will bring in six academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, to foster the transformation and industrialization of the scientific research achievements in Chengdu Science City.

All of the seven scientific research institutes and high-tech companies under the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Chengdu branch will move into the Chengdu Science Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Engineering that is under construction in Chengdu Science City.

As a major base for Chengdu to implement the civil-military integration strategy, the science city has planned a 16-square-kilometer industrial zone.

Construction on the zone, which will initially cover 3 square kilometers, will start this year, focusing on military electronics, satellite applications, aviation, electrical and mechanical equipment, and information security.

The industrial zone is expected to become a national-level civil-military innovation park and a demonstration area for highly developed civil-military integration, according to the development plan of the Chengdu Tianfu New Area.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/05/2017 page12)