[photopress:Zones_vice_premier_peiyan.jpg,full,alignright]China has named 30 new state-level high-tech industrial bases which brings it to a total of 65.
The announcement was made by Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan (seen in our illustration) in Beijing when he awarded the State-level High-tech Industrial Bases to 30 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an and Tianjin.
The 30 bases include six that are multi-purpose and 24 that specialize separately in civil aviation, new energy resources, microelectronics, information and biology.
It is generally accepted that the high-tech bases have played an important role in transforming the economic growth of China and upgrading the industrial structure. Moving, as it were, from a total dependence on agriculture and fossil fuel burning heavy industry to relatively clean and light power usage high tech.
Last year, the output of the high-tech sector was RMB1.91 trillion yuan ($269 billion), 7.8% of China’s gross domestic product.
Meanwhile, high-tech exports came to $347.8 billion, nearly 30% of the nation’s total exports.
The industrial output and exports had risen at average annual rates of 21.5% and 37.7%, for the seven years leading up to 2007.
Source: Window of China