Strength in research and development of new technologies and a good environment for the industry have made the high-tech industry one of the pillars in Shenzhen.

Output Value

The total output value of high-tech products made in Shenzhen reached 871.095 billion yuan in 2008, up 14.6 percent from the previous year and comprising 32.4 percent of the total industrial output value.

R&D Power

More than 30,000 local firms are engaged in the research and development of new technologies and products, with 621 turning an annual output value of over 100 million yuan. There are more than 940,000 technical professionals in the city. In all, more than 26 billion yuan was spent on scientific research and experiments in the city in 2008. The output value of products with independent intellectual property rights reached 514.817 billion yuan, comprising 59.1 percent of the total output value of high-tech products.

Research Results and Patents

A total of 254 items of scientific research results were registered in the city in 2008. By the end of the year, 36,249 patent applications were filed, up 1.2 percent from the previous year. Patent authorizations reached 18,805 cases, up 20.9 percent from the previous year.

High-tech Industrial Park

Construction on the Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Park started in September 1996, with a planned area of 11.5 square kilometers. The project was listed as one of six "world's top-notch high-tech industrial parks" in China. Today, there are firms forming mature industry chains in telecommunications, computer service, software and biochemistry.

In 2008, the total output value realized by firms in the park reached 224.978 billion yuan, up 17.6 percent from the previous year, comprising 14.19 percent of the city's total industrial output value.

Virtual University Park

First built in 1999, the Shenzhen Virtual University Park pools the strength of 52 prestigious universities from home and abroad. So far, it has educated more than 25,000 master's and doctoral degree holders, fostered more than 500 start-up companies and facilitated more than 1,000 cooperative projects between universities and companies.

The major functions of the park are to train and introduce high-end talent, integrate industrial and research resources, establish key research labs and doctoral workshops, and promote cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen research centers. 

Hi-Tech Fair

Cosponsored by the Shenzhen Municipal Government and many State-level agencies like the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Commerce, the China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) began in 1999 and has been held each year since. On average, more than a half million people have attended the fair annually, whose trading volume of products and technologies surpassed US$13 billion each year. The 11th CHTF will be held in November 2009.

(Web site: http://www.chtf.com)