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April 22, 2015

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Home » Business » Biz Special

Pudong undergoes drastic change

By Ji Xiang | April 22, 2015, Wednesday | Print Edition

EDITOR’S note:

THIS year marks the 25th anniversary of Pudong New Area’s takeoff since opening-up of the area as an economic zone started in 1990. Pudong, literally the east bank of Huangpu River, has realized a drastic change from an impoverished swampy farmland into a prosperous modern urban and economic area. Sea changes are happening as Pudong is always at the forefront of reform and opening-up. Shanghai Daily starts to run a series of stories to record the area’s 25 years of development and new growth opportunities ahead.

REFORM and innovation have been the key values of Pudong since the area was first explored in 1990 as a symbol of China’s wider openness to the world. To accommodate multinational companies, the area has been making extraordinary efforts to liberalize policies and stimulate innovation, as advanced technologies and thinking are the quintessence to mutual prosperity.

Over the years, Pudong has established the best possible infrastructure and facilities in the country to suit the development of all enterprises located there. Given the leading edge of the multinational companies, the Shanghai city government has been boosting cooperation with them to realize their localization and seek the best scientific innovations.

Having some of the best river and sea ports in the Yangtze River Delta region, convenient transport has made the area one of the best spots in the world for global companies to make a mark. Besides, the establishment of specific industrial zones in the area is also an effective means to serve various industrial functions.

Since US chemical company DuPont came in 1992 as the first Fortune 500 company to open a factory in Pudong, the area has welcomed the arrival of increasing numbers of well-known global companies. Some have set up manufacturing facilities, while others have taken Pudong as the place to locate their new headquarters and innovation centers for the whole Asia-Pacific region.

DuPont in November 2005 opened its China R&D center at Pudong’s Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, the third major research facility for the company outside the United States.

“Because of many advantages Shanghai has to offer, including proximity to a broad customer base, ease of travel globally, strength of local university and science communities, and attractive quality of life in a beautiful and vibrant city, DuPont decided to invest in a major new R&D facility here,” Thomas Connelly, DuPont’s chief science & technology officer, said then.

Innovation center

In September 2014, DuPont made another big step by opening its innovation center co-located with the R&D center, facilitating connection between customers and DuPont scientists and engineers around the world.

“The DuPont Shanghai Innovation Center gives customers in China access to our full range of scientific capabilities to find solutions to their unmet needs, enabling the rapid development and commercialization of compelling new technologies,” said Tony Su, president of DuPont China.

Germany’s BASF is currently the world’s largest chemical company by investment in research. In 2013, the company spent a total of 1.8 billion euros (US$1.9 billion) on research. The company began its investment in Pudong back in the 1980s and moved its China headquarters to Shanghai in 2004.

“We have not only built up research and development capabilities in Pudong but we use it specifically here in Shanghai. For instance, we work together with PATAC, which is the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, is based here in Shanghai," said Albert Heuser, BASF’s country head in China.

“There are functions even for the entire Asia-Pacific region being placed in Pudong, and in addition we build up these enormous capabilities for research and development ... as such, the Pudong site is very important for BASF,” Heuser said.

Germany’s Siemens, a leading global engineering and technology services company, is also one of the earliest settlers in Pudong. It operates key business sectors, including energy, power and health care, in Pudong.

In 1998, the company even set up the Siemens International Trading Ltd to maintain good relationship with the local government to support various business needs and explore potential opportunities in international trading, financial subsidies, and cross-border cash pooling.

High goal established

The goal of Pudong has been set high from the very beginning. Not merely positioning itself as a conglomeration of various manufacturers, Pudong has always valued the significance of scientific research and technological upgrading. There are 520 certificated research institutes in the area, accommodating a remarkable number of scientists and experts.

The extraordinary research environment in Pudong has made it one of the best innovative spots in the world, which has attracted many innovation centers belonging to the world’s most illustrious companies. The area has seen the best innovative practices in China, with amazing results created in the blink of an eye.

Swiss power and automation group ABB, a world leader in industrial robotics, has three companies located in Pudong. In China, ABB is the only multinational company localizing the full value chain for industrial robot from R&D, manufacturing, sales, engineering, system integration to service.

Today, ABB has an installed base of more than 250,000 industrial robots. More than 30,000 robots have been manufactured at the ABB’s base in Pudong so far.

“As China’s economic development shifts from the pursuit of speed and expansion to a focus on quality and efficiency, ABB will make better use of our advantages to support sustainable economic and environmental development with innovative and smart technologies to help enhance China’s core competitiveness,” said Gu Chunyuan, chairman of ABB (China).

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