Zhongguancun tech park sets out ambitious course

The Zhongguancun technology park in Beijing is arming itself with next generation technology industries, government officials said on Monday.

The park hopes to emulate the success of Silicon Valley and be a leading global hub for technology innovation.

The largest and oldest technology zone in China is aiming at 1.6 trillion yuan ($260 billion) in revenue by 2015, according to Sun Wenkai, acting district chief of Haidian district.

Zhongguancun, located in Haidian, is hoping to host at least 55 overseas listed Chinese enterprises, said Sun.

The local government will encourage investment in emerging areas, such as creative culture, high-technology manufacturing and service sectors.

Zhongguancun is looking to shift its major business from manufacturing to innovation, said Zhou Weimin, director of Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau.

At the end of 2012, Haidian had 267 listed companies and most of them were tech firms, Zhou added.