update: 1:44 a.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct 15, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Xi’an’s prominence as a high-tech center is one of China’s best-kept secrets. Speaker after speaker said as much during the 2008 Xi’an Investment Environment Promotion Forum in Silicon Valley, Monday. “People know about the history of China, but they don’t know a lot about its technology and education,” said Qingyun Sun, Director for the Xi’an People’s Congress and the leader of a high-level delegation which arrived in San Francisco, Sunday, for a three-city visit. Sun added that high tech is one of the five pillar industries that Xi’an is developing and promoting, and “efforts need to be intensified to highlight the city’s many strengths.”
China’s Consul General in San Francisco, Zhansheng Gao, took note of the fact that the Xi’an delegation’s visit has coincided with a difficult period for people all over the world, and he said that the group had arrived in the Bay Area at a good time. “The world faces severe challenges, and closer cooperation between nations is needed more than ever,” he said. “This forum is a great place to exchange views on the current situation and to expand views of both Silicon Valley and Xi’an.”
Among the people expanding the views of both high-tech locations was Joe Pon, VP of Applied Materials. Pon told a packed room at the Hyatt Regency that his company was the first to set up semi-conductor manufacturing operations in China, and that the investment has paid off in multiple ways and in multiple cities. Applied Materials initially set up in Beijing and later in Shanghai, but when the time came to expand, the company selected Xi’an. “We looked at the quality of people coming out of university in Xi’an,” said Pon, “And we needed an area that had expertise in aeronautics, aerospace, large complex systems and deep engineering experience.”
David Li, Deputy Director of the Xi’an Municipal Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, highlighted more facts about Xi’an including its advantages for potential investors. “One third of China’s space flight technology is centered in Xi’an,” he said. “In fact, for the space flight and space walk that took place recently, the engine, propellant, on-board computers, and remote-sensing devices were designed and manufactured in Xi’an.” Li also spoke about proactive measures on strengthening the legal system and protecting intellectual property rights–all moves to make the business climate more attractive to international companies.
Other speakers such as Jing Zhao, Vice Director of the Xi’an High-Tech Zone, Larry Pei of CompuPacific, Charles Han of Fast Commerce, and Alex Wang of ExtendLogic were equally generous with their praise of Xi’an’s business and educational assets. Chief among those assets are the legions of university graduates that provide a ready pool of high-tech talent to a wide range of international companies. Official figures put Xi’an’s student body at well over 800,000 students, and Zhao says that each year more than 10,000 students complete their Masters and Doctorate degrees.
The Forum was organized by the Xi’an Municipal Government in conjunction with Silicon Valley’s Global Sourcing Alliance. It was co-hosted by the following San Francisco Bay Area organizations:
– B2B Power Exchange
– Chamber of Commerce International Consortium for Entrepreneurs
– Deloitte Tax
– Silicon Valley Chinese Engineering Association
– Silicon Valley Information Business Alliance
– Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, L.L.P.
– Xi’an Software Outsourcing Alliance
The Xi’an diplomats will travel next to Chicago and New York and, during their US visit, the delegation will sign agreements with the following companies:
– Applied Materials
– Honeywell
– Broadway
– Parago
– Citibank
Details about those pacts are confidential, but the agreements signal that Xi’an continues to attract companies that want a high-tech, business-friendly environment with a stable and highly educated work force with unlimited potential.
About Xi’an, China
Xi’an is a trade and technology center in western China, with market coverage of the 5 provinces. Moreover, foreign and domestic business magnates such as Metro, Trust-Mart, Homeclub, Guomei, and Suning have established successful operations there. There are hundreds of thousands of wholesalers and retailers in Xi’an, with 1.07 million staff members. Xi’an has several software and technology zones, including Electronic Industrial Park, Chang’an Technology Park, Xi’an Software Park, Hi-Tech Export Processing Base, Xi’an Jiaotong University Science Park, Xidian University Software Park, Northwest Polytechnic University Science Park, Biopharmaceutical Park, and Advanced Material Science Park. In its various locations, XAHTP hosts IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Philips, NEC, and Fujitsu. In 2002, Xi’an was designated not only as a National Software Base, one of ten, but was given the go-ahead to become China’s largest such hub.
About Global Sourcing Alliance (GSA)
GSA is a Silicon-Valley-based, non-profit organization dedicated to helping companies in getting started with the global sourcing of IT solutions. Founded in 2007, GSA’s members are outsourcing service providers, experts and advocates; outsourcing-related, non-profit and government organizations; and outsourcing service buyers. Our members utilize GSA to promote and learn about global sourcing through meetings, consultations, and interactions over our Outsourcing Information Exchange Platform (OIEP). Visit www.GlobalSourcingInfo.org for additional information.
