Guian boasts years of success in developing digital economy

Guiyang Big Data Science and Innovation City is expected to be the hub of Guian's big data industry. [Provided to China Daily]

Guian New Area in Southwest China's Guizhou province has achieved fruitful results in developing the digital economy over the past 10 years. It has also made solid achievements in building a "digital valley" for the nation.

Hu Zhongxiong, secretary of the Guiyang committee of the Communist Party of China and Party chief of Guian New Area, shared the results at a news conference on Aug 16 for introducing the development of the new area from 2012 to 2021.

Guian New Area, located at the junction of the provincial capital of Guiyang and its neighboring city of Anshun, obtained approval from the State Council in 2014 to be a national-level new area. With a planned area of 693 square miles, the new area has been known to investors for its outstanding geographical conditions and low operational costs among other cities in Guizhou province, according to Hu.

The new area has become one of the driving forces in developing Guizhou's digital economy, since it identified the big data industry as its core sector when established in 2014.

During the first seven months of this year, the combined business revenue of Guian New Area's software development and information technology service industries reached 22.79 billion yuan ($3.33 billion), increasing 591% from the same period last year, according to local statistics.

The area has seen more than 10 large-scale big data centers established by IT companies, including China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Huawei, Apple, Tencent and Foxconn. These have laid a solid foundation for Guian to become an international data production and distribution hub.

When talking about why China Mobile identified the new area as the venue for its big data unit, Gui Zhibiao, an executive at China Mobile's data center, said: "Guian has a unique natural ecosystem to support industrial development."

According to Gui, the new area has a cool climate in summer, which can help big data centers lower their power consumption by 5% to 8% compared with other regions in China.

"The abundant wind and hydraulic power resources in Guian also help companies lower electricity costs," Gui said.

Guian is a suitable location for enterprises to set up facilities because of its good environment, incentive policies, energy abundance and well-established road network, Gui said.

Guian, adjacent to Guiyang, has a convenient traffic network to connect the area with other parts of country by railway, airport and expressway.

It takes only a half hour for people to travel from Guian to Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport, Anshun Huangguoshu Airport, Guiyang North Railway Station and Guiyang East Railway Station. The high-speed railway network connects Guian with major cities in neighboring provinces, which allows travels between two and four hours. It is also connected to seaports in neighboring regions conveniently through expressways and railways.

The new area is also offering more preferential policies to bolster industries such as manufacturing, software and IT services, e-commerce, new materials and new energy vehicles, according to Zhang Mingquan, director of Guian New Area's investment promotion bureau.

Due to its improved business environment, Guian has been favored by an increasing number of world-class enterprises, Zhang said.

Companies such as battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology and new energy vehicle and battery producer BYD have established industrial bases in Guian.

The construction of Guian BYD Battery Industrial Park is in full swing and progressing smoothly. The industrial park, with total investment of 2.5 billion yuan, is expected to achieve 4 billion yuan in annual industrial output value upon its completion.

Xu Jiayi, director of the industrial development office at Guian Industrial Development Group, which is providing support to BYD, said the new area will continue its efforts to lure investors, cultivate businesses and invest in new projects to expand the industrial chain of NEVs. The group also plans to establish an NEV fund to provide financial support to companies.

The construction of Guiyang Big Data Science and Innovation City began in the new area in December last year. The platform is expected to be a hub for enterprises and talents to commercialize their latest digital developments in Guizhou.

To assist the development of big data and related companies in the science and innovation city, Guian New Area has introduced preferential policies in eight areas including financial and information infrastructure service support. Guian will give subsidies for property purchase and rental to individuals settling there.

Wang Pingfu, a project manager at Guizhou Yunshi Technology, a company specializing in digital map, smart internet network, location data and chips for automobiles, said the company chose to land in Guian because of the region's outstanding geographical location, strong government support and rich talent resources. Yunshi Technology plans to launch two new projects in the science and innovation city, focusing on remote-sensing satellites and autonomous driving in 2023.

To attract and retain enterprises in the science and innovation city, the local government has set up a service center to provide policy consulting, business registration and property management services.

Mao Yinqiang, deputy director of the administrative committee of Guian New Area, said that the science and innovation city's construction is developing with high standards and efficiency. It is expected to be the core of the new area's big data industry as well as of the entire Guizhou province.