Chinese Industrial and Science Parks: Bridging the Gap

Abstract

This article proposes the addition of a "bridge high technology" stage to Park's (1996) Asian development model, based upon field research and analysis of four "science and technology parks" in different regions of China: Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Xi'an. Initially established as learning districts to foster technology transfer from foreign to domestic enterprises, these specially configured spaces exhibit a variety of interactions indicating an increasing shift toward domestically generated technology for native companies. The mix and type of companies in parks at different locations within China reflect the locational comparative advantages of each place, whether as an outgrowth of local research or by government design.

Science Parks and the Co-location of High-tech Small- and Medium-sized Firms in China’s Shenzhen

“…SPs 1 are frequently used as policy instruments to stimulate high-tech development (Walcott, 2002). There were 54 national-level and 107 provincial-level SPs by 2007.…”

“…A unique feature of Chinese parks is that an administrative (national, provincial, municipal or local) level is assigned to each park as a certificate. Parks at higher administrative levels have priorities in policy incentives and resources allocation (Walcott, 2002). And parks with outstanding performances can be promoted to higher levels.…”

Industrial relocation of Hong Kong manufacturing firms: towards an expanding industrial space beyond the Pearl river delta

“…The policies of ''designated industrial parks'' and teng long huan niao that encourage relocation can be a typical example to illustrate the nature of this round of relocation. It also shows that the relocation process in China has to consider the role of the state, which is often deemphasized in the literature on districts (Walcott 2002;Wei et al 2007). Spatially, the relocation will bring about the expansion of the industrial space driven by Hong Kong manufacturing firms in the future and play an important role in the restructuring of industrial districts in the PRD.…”

The role of geographical proximity in the establishment and development of science parks –evidence from Nanjing, China

“…Using a qualitative approach, Walcott (2002) finds that state--level parks can create a privileged space in which more favourable conditions are provided for product development and manufacturing compared with off--park situations. Through semi--structured interviews with key stakeholders in large--scale science parks, Sutherland (2005) concludes that parks in China cannot yet be considered as clusters of knowledge innovation and academia--industry cooperation because they tend increasingly to import foreign technology and attract foreign direct investment rather than promoting indigenous firms and technologies.…”