Hub wields global influence as techies stream in from abroad

With its growing influence in the global innovation landscape, Zhongguancun - Beijing's high-tech business hub - is attracting increasing numbers of professionals from around the world to the city to develop their careers.

On the "Breakthrough Brands of 2017" list released by global brand consultancy Interbrand, three out of 40 companies were from China and they are all headquartered in Zhongguancun.

In the latest global top 10 startup ecosystems rankings, Beijing took second place just after Silicon Valley in the United States.

The ranking was unveiled by SparkLabs Group, a network comprising startup business accelerators and venture capital funds.

International media and ratings institutions have consistently been speaking highly of Beijing's progress in research and development said Zhai Lixin, director of Zhongguancun's administrative committee.

Zhai said this reflected the capital's successful efforts in building itself into a national hub of science and technology.

It also reflected Zhongguancun's major advances in encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship and "optimizing its industrial structure that features cutting-edge technologies", he said.

Professionals are the premier resource to tap into, to ensure Zhongguancun's continuing outstanding position in technological innovation, Zhai added.

More than 30,000 returned overseas Chinese experts and specialists have established over 8,000 companies in Zhongguancun, making the area a leading destination for startup businesses.

At Horizon Robotics, a technology company focusing on artificial intelligence chips in Zhongguancun, key members of its research and management teams almost all worked with top high-tech multinationals before, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Nokia.

Prior to founding Horizon Robotics in 2015, company CEO Yu Kai was a founder of the Baidu Institute of Deep Learning, reportedly the first AI lab in the domestic industry.

The internationally noted expert in deep learning and general AI took various key R&D roles in Germany and the US for 12 years, according to the company.

Yang Ming, co-founder and vice-president of software at the company, is one of the founding members of Facebook AI Research and a former senior researcher at NEC Labs America. Huang Chang, another co-founder and vice-president of algorithms at the company, was a principle scientist and architect at internet giant Baidu.

Horizon Robotics has secured heavy investments from China and abroad. Its investors include Yuri Milner, an investor from Silicon Valley, Wu Capital, and Tsing Capital.

Another example is BeiGene, a biopharmaceuticals company founded by biochemist Wang Xiaodong, who has served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the US since 2004.

The company has a nearly 140-strong research team, most of whom were previously involved in R&D with industry heavyweights including Pfizer, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lily and Co, and Novartis. More than 20 percent of its R&D staff have worked in the R&D sector for over a decade.

Its strong R&D team ensures the company has remained at the forefront of cancer research internationally since its founding, with proprietary intellectual property rights to its product portfolio.

In addition to returned overseas Chinese, foreign professionals are also seeking career opportunities in Zhongguancun. Last year alone, 12 percent of startup projects were initiated by experts from abroad.

As the professionals from abroad have streamed into Zhongguancun, local authorities have rolled out more tax concessions and incentives in financing and trading, and improved administrative services to attract and retain the high-level human resources.

Since March 2016, Zhongguancun has offered a one-stop service for foreign experts to apply for permanent residence in Beijing. More than 310 have made applications and 260 have so far been granted.

"Zhongguancun provides a promising place for budding entrepreneurs, where their businesses can get off the ground with their expertise and ambitions," Zhai said.

Backed by various R&D teams gathering in Zhongguancun, Beijing ranked No 1 among the top 10 tech hubs to live and work in worldwide last year, followed by Berlin and San Francisco, according to the ranking by Expert Market, a US-based market analysis company.

According to analysts, a city has proved its innovation capacity if there are four unicorns operating in it.

In the business world a unicorn does not refer to the mythical horse-like creature, but a startup company valued at more than $1 billion.

Zhongguancun is home to 67 unicorns worth $213.7 billion in total, including electronics manufacturer Xiaomi, ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, and group-buying portal Meituan.

With the second-largest number of unicorns in the world, just after Silicon Valley, Zhongguancun has secured more than $6.2 billion in combined investments flowing to local companies.

(China Daily 04/02/2018 page10)