High-tech is the prominent subject at the national convention for overseas Chinese enterprises, which opened its third convention on Sunday in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province.
The four-day event, which ends on Tuesday, follows on the heels of two successful conventions in 2000 and 2001.
More than 300 overseas entrepreneurs from more than 20 different countries and regions worldwide are at the convention. They represent such fields as information technology, biomedical science, modern agriculture, chemicals, machinery, environmental protection and engineering.
Unlike the last two times, this year's convention focuses on high technology, which is expected to be the field in which most cooperative contracts are to be signed in the next two days.
Yesterday, US$238 million in investments were signed. Among them, 85 per cent dealt with high technology.
"The high-tech industry has quickly infiltrated all the new industries. The Chinese economy, like any other economy in the world, is dependent on technologic innovations for development," said Guo Dongpo, director of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs under the State Council.
Guo said he was happy to learn that China's annual output value of high technology is on a rapid increase of 25 percent a year.
For many large cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, more than 60 percent of the annual industrial increase comes from their high-tech industrial parks.
"Today, 30,000 successful overseas Chinese who have grasped the most forward and advanced technology in the world are at the convention. Their enthusiasm to come back and invest in their motherland will surely benefit China's development in all fields," Guo said.
Said Liu Yanhua, deputy-minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology: "Facing a rapid advancement in the world's technology and the changes brought on by China's entrance into the World Trade Organization, China will continue to make more efforts and earmark more funds to develop nation's technology innovations.
"This will include supporting key high-tech programmes, introducing more talented professionals, further developing more high-class research institutions and enhancing international technological exchanges and cooperation."
Statistics show that by the end of 2000, there had been six high-tech enterprises in China enjoying an annual output value of more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion).
(China Daily June 04, 2002)
