High and New Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing Industry & Independent Innovation
High and New Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing & Independent Innovation
The hi-tech industry and advanced manufacturing are the pillar industries of Shenzhen.
Since the beginning of the 1990's, Shenzhen has grasped strategic opportunities to develop the hi-tech industry and has promoted the leap of independent innovation in respect of both quality and quantity. In 2005, the output value of hi-tech products of Shenzhen Municipality reached RMB 490 billion, among which that of hi-tech products with proprietary intellectual property accounted for 58%; patent applications of Shenzhen Municipality exceeded 20,000, ranking third among large and medium cities of China, among which invention patent applications exceeded 8,000, accounting for 40% of all of such applications, ranking highest in the country. To date, overall investment in R&D has reached RMB 12.5 billion in Shenzhen, and this proportion is about three times higher than the average level throughout China.
Shenzhen has become one of the most successful cities in China to rely on independent innovation in order to transform economic growth patterns and the adjustment of the economic structure. The development of Shenzhen's economy has experienced a forward progression from "Processed in Shenzhen" and "Made in Shenzhen" to "Created in Shenzhen". A batch of enterprise groups with international competitive edges have come into being gradually through the enhancement of independent corporate innovative abilities, i.e. hi-tech industry organizations such as communication industry groups, computer industry groups, IC industry groups, software industry groups, etc. These industries have had the fastest growth speed and the strongest competitive edge in Shenzhen, and their main products, such as computer software & hardware, SPC exchanges, and access network equipment take a large share of the domestic market.
In order to propel hi-tech economic cooperation between China and other countries of the world, the China Hi-Tech Fair was started in 1999 to be held in Shenzhen every October. It has become the number one fair for high and new technologies in China, and Shenzhen has become a manufacturing, R&D and trading hub for high and new technologies products in China.