Three "High-tech Valleys" Emerging Along Yangtze RiverThree "high-tech valleys," respectively the "Silicon Valley, " "Medicine Valley" and " Photoelectron Valley," are emerging along the Yangtze River.The "Silicon Valley" at the mouth of the Yangtze River in Shanghai, is dedicated to developing various computer chips. The driving force for this region mainly comes from local institutions of higher learning or technological research, such as Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, the Science and Engineering University of Southeast China and the Shanghai Metallurgy Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences. High-tech enterprises bring vitality to this "valley" as well. For instance, IBM has recently declared that it will invest US$300 million into this region to build a base that will make computer chips. By 2005, the output value of the information industry in this region will reach 400 billion yuan (US$48.19 billion). Also in Shanghai, situated in the Pudong Development Zone, a " Medicine Valley" is forming, where tremendous achievements in the innovation and industrialization of biopharmaceutical technology have been made due to joint efforts by local research institutions and enterprises. Significant contributions have been made by the Medicine Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, National South Genom Research Center, Genetically modified Animal Center, National Innovation Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, to name just a few . It is estimated that the total output value of the biopharmaceutical industry of "Medicine Valley" could reach 3.5 billion yuan (US$421 million) this year, an increase of 40 percent over 1999. This "medicine valley" will grow into an important biopharmaceutical base of China in five years, and form an industrial scale of 50 billion yuan (US$6.02 billion). One or two large pharmaceutical complexes with the capital of more than five billion yuan (US$602 million) are expected to emerge in the recent future. Last but not least, the "Photoelectron Valley", covering 50 square kilometers in Wuhan, a large city on Yangtze River in central China, is facing a promising tomorrow. This "valley" focuses on the photoelectric products needed in the production of high definition television, screen phones and other communication articles. A contract to invest 20 billion yuan (US$2.41 billion) to develop the photoelectric industry in this region has recently been signed by the Administrative Office of the "Photoelectron Valley", and five other national financial institutions which include the famous Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Construction Bank of China. The output value of the photoelectric industry in this "valley" is expected to reach 100 billion yuan (US$12.05 billion) by 2005. The three "valleys" will give a great impetus to the take-off of the economic zone along the Yangtze River, whose GDP accounts for 40 percent of China's total. |
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