R&D centers, international parks set up shop

Chengdu is taking measures to speed up the national core city construction, to actively support the Belt and Road Initiative, to promote opening-up, and to strengthen communication and cooperation.

German technological leader Siemens has said it wants to continue to build on its already strong links with Chengdu.

The Munich-based technology solutions provider signed agreements with the Chengdu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in early August, to establish a global industrial software research and development center and a smart manufacturing innovation center in the region.

The total investments involved in the projects will hit around 1 billion yuan ($151 million).

The global industrial software R&D center will focus on developing MindSphere, which is an open, internet of things operating system. It is the first such R&D center established by Siemens in China.

Wang Haibin, executive vice-president of Siemens (China), said that the center would become a significant part of Siemens' global innovation network.

The innovation center will help to strengthen Siemens' smart manufacturing capacity, expand the company's talent pool and provide professional lab services and industrial solutions.

In the following years, the center will be built into an open service platform to support Chengdu's manufacturing industry digitalization, reaching out to local universities, companies and other partners to join and cultivate an intelligent manufacturing ecosystem.

In July, Siemens and National Development and Reform Commission signed a memorandum of understanding. In it they specified they would work together in the areas of digital innovation, based on the existing cooperation framework, and continue to offer solutions to support Chinese industrial sectors.

"The arrival of the two centers in the zone is the latest move made by Siemens in line with the memorandum," said Wu Yongxin, senior vice-president of Siemens (China).

"It aims to allow Chengdu to lay the foundations for a leading and developing digitalized industrial internet, as well as build a demonstration model for national digital users."

Siemens said it has been committed to strengthening investments in Chengdu in the past few years.

The company's biggest digital factory in China - Siemens Electronics Work Chengdu, built to produce automatic products - is in Chengdu. The factory, located in the Chengdu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, is the third largest automatic products R&D center created by Siemens in the world, just behind those in Germany and the United States.

Siemens announced last July that it would increase its presence in Chengdu by setting up a subsidiary with registered capital of 330 million yuan. It will continue to expand its manufacturing and R&D capacities.

Chengdu, with its strong economic and cultural foundations, has attracted increasing numbers of overseas partners. It is home to the Sino-German SME Cooperation Park, the Sino-French Ecology Park and many other international innovation and entrepreneurship parks.

Ivan Scalfarotto, vice-minister of economic development in Italy, signed agreements with Chengdu to develop a Sino-Italian cultural innovation park in Chengdu on Aug 3.

The park, covering an area of about 667 hectares, will have five sectors - a cultural tourism sector; a small town; a cultural and creative industry sector; a sports sector and a modern urban agricultural sector.

The park will focus on promoting Sino-Italian cooperation in the fields of culture, innovation, environmental protection, sustainable development, agriculture, medical and aerospace.

"The future of China's development will be highlighted in its western region and Chengdu city is one of the key cities," Scalfarotto said. "Italy is willing to partner with Chengdu to strengthen trade, investment and tourism cooperation."

Chengdu has become an important opening-up platform in western China. It is home to 16 foreign consulates and 278 Fortune 500-listed companies. The city is also connected to the outside world by 102 international air routes.

(China Daily 09/13/2017 page5)