Zhongguancun, China's answer to Silicon Valley, has witnessed significant changes in the past decade. Over the years, it has fully played its leading role in developing cutting-edge technologies and piloting reform policies and measures for sci-tech innovations, as well as fostered a number of leading high-tech companies and boosted its revenue and export growth.
Zhongguancun has adopted more than 80 reform measures to spur innovation over the years, including preferential tax policies and preferential policies for talents. Over 30 reform policies have been replicated and applied on a broader scale.
Zhongguancun has pursued independent and self-reliant development in the field of science and technology. Major breakthroughs have been made in a number of areas, including the world's largest autonomous driving platform Baidu Apollo, Cambricon's deep learning chip, and Megvii's AI productivity platform Brain++.
In addition, a host of new technologies and products rolled out in Zhongguancun have contributed to epidemic prevention and control work. COVID-19 vaccines developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and Sinovac Life Sciences have become global public goods.
Over the years, Zhongguancun has worked to readjust its industrial structure, transforming from the information technology industries represented by electronics manufacturing, software, and technology services to a new generation of IT industries focusing on AI, block chain, big data, and cloud computing.
In 2022, Zhongguancun registered a combined revenue of 8.4 trillion yuan (US$1.16 trillion), up from 2.5 trillion yuan in 2012, contributing to more than 30% of Beijing's economic growth. The revenue generated in Zhongguancun reached 17.29 billion yuan per square meter, up 237% over 2012.
As of 2021, Zhongguancun was now home to 24,000 high-tech companies, of which 4,106 had annual revenues of over 100 million yuan. Ten companies were listed in the world's top 500. The number of listed companies (excluding the New Third Board) and unicorn companies in Zhongguancun reached 466 and 102, respectively, with the latter ranking second in the world.
Thanks to the growing overseas demands for COVID-19 vaccines and mobile products, the exports of Zhongguancun skyrocketed to 389.38 billion yuan in 2021, doubling the amount in 2012. Domestically, the zone has expanded cooperation with other high-tech industrial development zones and boosted the coordinated development in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The volume of contracted technology transactions with other provinces and cities surged from 60.24 billion yuan in 2012 to 280.05 billion yuan in 2021.
