EIJS Working Papers Series
No 212:
NINGBO: A REGIONAL CITY LEAPFROG INTO HI-TECH DEVELOPMENT
Jon Sigurdson ()
Abstract: The dynamic development in Ningbo illustrates local
changes that have their basis in government support and resources from all
levels of government. The rapid development arises from a combination of
excellent infrastructure, a strong private entrepreneurship and strong
foreign direct Investment (FDI) to exploit the geographical location which
will be further enhanced when the bridge, across Hangzhou Bay to Shanghai,
is completed by 2008.Ningbo, a famous port city in China, reached in 2000 a
population of six million. It is situated 100 kilometres from Hangzhou, the
capital of Zhejiang province, and 150 kilometres across the water from
Shanghai. In terms of geo-economics Ningbo is an integral part of the
dynamic Yangtze Delta region; but Ningbo is also trying to develop its own
niche based on its comparative advantage. This is an important feature of
China’s regional development model. Ningbo is the native place of Ningbo
Bird, the forerunner in China’s, as well as a strong contender in the
global, mobile handset industry. Ningbo has traditionally been a location
for car component industries with early development of spark plugs and car
wheels. The Geely car company has used Ningbo for its national expansion
The Ningbo car components industry is expanding fuelled by support from the
mould industry and a number of private supplier entrepreneurs. There are
three major moulding industry centres in China. The moulding industry in
Ningbo now employs about 100,000 workers. Ningbo does not want to remain
only in knowledge application but in knowledge creation too. To this end
Ningbo has four national-scale development zones, one hi-tech zone and 10
provincial and municipal level development zones which cater to both
shipping and trade sectors; it is widely using incubators to stimulate new
technologies. The Ningbo Hi-Tech Park is an important hi-tech zone in the
region. jointly developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ningbo
Municipal Government, it was opened in July 1999. In March 2004, the
Chinese Ministry of Education approved the establishment of
Ningbo-Nottingham China's first Sino-foreign university. The new university
will be founded jointly by the University of Nottingham of Britain and the
Zhejiang Wanli University in Ningbo with an investment of RMB600
million.
Keywords: Regional innovation system; local universities; industrial parks; incubators; clusters; industrial zones; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: I23; I28; L53; L62; O18; O31; O32; R58; (follow links to similar papers)
21 pages, September 30, 2005, Revised September 30, 2005
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