The Xi’an High-tech Zone, a frontier territory representing the high-tech industry of Xi’an and the west, has become the strongest economic growth pole and a window for opening up to the outside world in Xi’an and Shaanxi by a lot of “No. 1” honors.

The Xi’an High-tech Zone was among the first group of national high-tech zones approved by the State Council in March 1991. Over the 23 years, the zone’s key economic indicators have soared and its aggregative indicator has ranked top among over 80 national high-tech zones in the country. The zone has developed its own advantages and features in terms of promoting technical innovation and developing high-tech industries with national independent intellectual property rights. The zone has transformed nearly 12,000 technological achievements cumulatively, over 90% of which carry independent intellectual property rights. According to statistics by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the zone’s industrial scale, tax contribution, knowledge innovation and sustainability rank top among domestic high-tech zones.

Now the Xi’an High-tech Zone has become the largest economic growth pole in the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone, one of the most economically active areas with the best investment environment and highest degree of marketization in the central and western regions, one of the six high-tech zones which the country has determined to build into world-class science parks, the strongest economic growth pole and a window for opening up to the outside world in Xi’an and Shaanxi, as well as a major base for high-tech industry development in China. Central leaders like Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao have visited the zone for many times. In June 2005, then Premier Wen Jiabao expressly noted that efforts should be made to build the six high-tech zones in Xi’an, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan into world-class science parks, thus making remarkable contributions to improving China’s capacity for independent innovation and comprehensive national strength. Premier Wen’s remark further displayed the zone’s feature of independent innovation. The innovation competitiveness of the zone ranks the 3rd across the country, only next to Zhongguancun Science Park and ZJ Innopark.

In 2008, the Xi’an High-tech Zone became one of the first “innovation and entrepreneurial bases for overseas high-level talents” among the country’s 80-strong national high-tech zones, together with Zhongguancun Science Park, ZJ Innopark, Wuhan Donghu New Technology Development Zone, and Wuxi New Technology Development Zone.

In 2013, the Xi’an High-tech Zone focused on the grand goal of building a world-class science park. Through innovation drive and connotation enhancement, the zone made great efforts in industry cultivation, investment promotion, project construction and people-benefiting projects, thus achieving good effects in all work. The settled enterprises registered total operating revenues of RMB885.38 billion, up 30% year on year and an added industrial value of RMB183.95 billion, making the zone’s economic aggregate rank 3rd among 114 domestic national high-tech zones.