Congratulations to the Successful Upgrading of Xiangtan Hi-Tech Zone to a National Hi-Tech Zone
The State Council approves the upgrading of Xiangtan Hi-Tech Zone to a national hi-tech zone
On March 18, 2009, State Council issued a written reply to approve the “Upgrade of Xiangtan Hi-Tech Industrial Zone to a National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone” (State Ordinance [2009] No. 30), by which Xiangtan Hi-Tech Industrial Zone has officially become the 55th national hi-tech zone. This is an indication of the successful upgrade of “the engine” for self-driven innovation in Xiangtan, which symbolizes that the development of Xiangtan Hi-Tech Zone has been integrated into national innovation framework.
According to the State Council's written reply: it is agreed that Xiangtan Hi-Tech Industrial Zone be upgraded to a national hi-tech industrial development zone and be named as Xiangtan Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, which will be run under existing policies for national hi-tech industrial development zones. Xiangtan Hi-Tech Zone is required to develop scientifically, to innovate independently, to perfect institutional mechanism in accordance with the requirements of centralized layout, clustered industries, concentrated land use, distinct characteristics, moderate scale, and complete supporting facilities, so as to become an important carrier for promoting technological advancement and enhancing self-driven innovativeness, to become a powerful engine for driving regional economic restructuring and transforming economic development methods, to become a service platform for hi-tech enterprises to show and participate in international competition, and to become the frontline for capturing the vantage point of world high technology and industry.
Xiangtan Hi-Tech Zone was founded in 1992, with total planned area of 11.7 square kilometers. For 17 years, the Hi-Tech Zone has been insisting on high-starting-point planning, high-standard construction, and high-level service to speed up the clustering of each kind of essential factors; as a result, it has made remarkable progresses in self-driven innovation, hi-tech industrial development, and optimization of innovation/venturing environment, hence becoming an important base with active technological innovation, outstanding industrial characteristic, and fast development of zone economy in Hunan. According to the joint reviewing and appraisal by Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Land Resources, and Ministry of Housing and Construction, its self-driven innovativeness, innovation and venturing environment, clustering hi-tech industries, concentrated land use, and supporting service functions have all met the requirements and standards of national hi-tech zones.
Upgrade of Xiangtan Hi-Tech Zone to a national hi-tech zone has been the dream to people of Xiangtan for many years. Since the late-1980s to the early 1990s when the country has set up 52 national hi-tech zones, in recent years only individual cases were examined and approved such as Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Demonstration Zone (in 1997) and Ningbo Hi-Tech Zone (in 2007). Capturing the Party and the government’s strategy to implementing self-driven innovation as the core to construct an innovative country, Xiangtan municipal party committee and municipal government made the decision in 2006 to “build Xiangtan national hi-tech zone with maximum effort and resources of the whole city”. Afterwards, a special organization (Leadership Group) was established headed by the mayor, which launches a series of works strictly according to the standards of national hi-tech zones.
In June, 2007, Hunan provincial government officially submitted to the State Council the "Application for Upgrading Xiangtan Hi-Tech Industrial Zone to a National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone". Concerned national ministries and commissions have visited Xiangtan for inspection for several times, and in November, 2007 and November, 2008, the State Council General Office organized Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Land Resources, and Ministry of Housing and Construction to conduct multi-round joint hearings and evaluations. It is reported that this upgrade of Xiangtan Hi-Tech Industrial Zone is approved and recognized by the State Council through strict and procedural selection, inspection, and appraisals by relevant national authorities. It is also the first approval that is so prudent and public since the establishment of national hi-tech zones.
Upgrade of Xiangtan Hi-Tech Zone can display better driving effects, foster a close connection of science, technology, and economy, and promote industrial restructuring; it can also participate in the cooperation and exchange within the inter-system of national hi-tech zones, take full play of resource sharing advantage, realize cross-regional movement of industry and technology, appeal to national investment of innovation resources; it will be beneficial to consummating the regional innovation system, gathering the advantage industrial cluster; it will be beneficial to driving construction of the “Two-type-oriented Societies”, to promoting the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure; it will be beneficial to elevating the competitiveness of Xiangtan industries, thrusting the strategy of a strong industry and a rich city, and speeding up the development of the birthplace of great people.
|
