Development zone lands investment at expo

Companies show great confidence in high-tech industry projects in economic engine of Xi'an

Xi'an Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone, a major economic, industrial and human resources cluster in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, attracted 140.9 billion yuan ($20.48 billion) in investment at the Fourth Silk Road International Exposition, and the Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China held earlier this month, showing the great confidence investors have in the area.

The investment will go toward 41 projects covering electronic information systems, advanced manufacturing, biological medicine, headquarters economy, urban support facilities and financial services, with many big companies aiming to establish a presence in the zone.

Chinese tech giant Huawei will cooperate with the zone focusing on the development of smart cities and new healthcare technologies. China Telecom, the country's major telecoms operator, will invest 3 billion yuan in the zone to develop automated driving technologies, remote education, industrial internet and smart transportation using 5G networks.

State-owned enterprises, such as China Communications Construction, China State Construction and COFCO, have pledged to build headquarters in the zone. Retail chain giant Joy City plans to build a new shopping mall complex, with an investment of 10 to 15 billion yuan. Xi'an International Medical Investment has chosen the zone for its research into the prevention, treatment and teaching of age-related diseases.

Chinese leading e-commerce company Alibaba Group plans to build offline stores in schools in the zone. Property operator Bluetown has invested 8 billion yuan in constructing an ecological town there.

An investment fund was set up for the zone by Xi'an Financial Holdings and Shaanxi Culture Industry Investment Group to back Chinese cultural companies to go global.

Xi'an, an ancient city once functioning as capital during the reign of 13 imperial dynasties, is transforming itself into a fashionable and modern metropolis. As a major transport hub on the ancient Silk Road, today the city is developing an open economy to link its resources to the outside world and make contributions toward the goals of the Belt and Road Initiative.

As a major economic engine of Xi'an, the high-tech zone is home to 98 percent of all Fortune Global 500 companies in the city. GDP growth in the zone was 13 percent from January to March, 4.4 percentage points higher than Xi'an as a whole. In the first quarter alone, the zone attracted $867 million in investment.

With some 120,000 companies operating in the zone, its three pillar industries are electronic information systems, such as semiconductors and software, modern manufacturing, including new energy vehicles and biomedicine, and modern services in finance and creative culture.

A total of 115 Fortune Global 500 companies, such as Samsung, Siemens, Honeywell, Intel, IBM and GE have settled in the zone, together with 2,000 foreign-invested companies, 1,926 high-tech enterprises and 145 publicly listed companies.

The annual Silk Road International Exposition is a platform for countries and regions involved in the BRI to promote trade, culture and people-to-people exchanges. This year, the event attracted people from more than 40 countries and regions, such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Russia, Australia and Germany.

The high-tech zone amazed attendees at the event with its many products, such as smart parking lot systems, big data analysis and management platform for health, high-speed laser cladding devices and iris identity recognition, as well as achievements made in creative culture and other sectors.

The exposition is also known for its efforts in pioneering a new and innovative business environment in western China.

Li Jun, executive director of real estate company Greentown China Holdings, said the zone is the most economically advanced area with a solid industrial base in Shaanxi province.

Xu Guanghong, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Wenchuang Group, said the zone provides an efficient and friendly environment for companies through its policies and services.

Xue Lei, general manager of Xi'an Bright Laser Technologies, a provider of integrated solutions for metal additive manufacturing, said it took the company only a week to be granted permission for land use in the zone.

The zone even helped clear up construction waste near the land within three days.

"When we ran into any problem, the officials would work into the middle of the night to deal with it. It conforms to their promise to never leave a problem for the next day," he said.

He added the zone is changing every month, with newly resurfaced roads and improved infrastructure.

"These changes show the vitality and power of regional development," Xue said, adding he is confident about the future of the zone.

Charles Fischer, president of Henry Fischer Group, said the ideal investment environment, dynamic economic development, preferential policies for investors and optimized processes aimed at helping products reach the market, gave him much confidence in the zone.

The company and Xi'an Groke Corp are building a Sino-Italian fashion town and Fischer European City, to introduce new culture, fashion, tourism and other industrial resources to Xi'an.

(China Daily 05/20/2019 page12)