Copyright 2024 - Ningbo Life / Ningbo Expat

First National Innovation Base to settle at Ningbo High-tech Development Zone

It is learned from related department on Dec.26 that the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee has lately approved the third group of national high-level innovation base for returned scholars and the first of such base in Ningbo is to be set up at Ningbo National High-tech Development Zone.
The base is to attract the oversea talents, serving as one of the important platforms for implementing the “1000 Talents Program” (Qianren Program). This base is mainly targeted at the key universities, large enterprises, national development zones and hi-tech development zones. Since 2008, three groups of such bases have been designated.
Ningbo municipal party committee and municipal government attach great importance to introduction of talents. To accelerate the transformation of economic development mode and promote the building of innovative city, the city has formulated two plans to introduce high-ranking talents innovative teams from overseas. Up to now, 11 people are listed in the national “1000 Talents Program”(Qianren Program) and 45 in provincial “1000 Talent Program”(Qianren Program).
As early as in 2009, to provide mechanism guarantee for oversea talents, Ningbo took the lead in granting subsidies to encourage enterprises to introduce overseas engineers. Statistics show that during 2010 about 160 overseas engineers were introduced and the subsidy granted went over 47.7 million CNY. Besides, 548 people learning abroad returned to Ningbo.
Meanwhile, Ningbo has strengthened the building of overseas high-level talent innovation base. In recent years, Ningbo National Hi-tech Development Zone has invested 200 million CNY for talent introduction, technological innovation and industrial development.
To ensure the success of innovation and business start-ups, the Zone also built several platforms, such as oversea students’ innovation park, R&D Park, Software Park and so on. These parks, occupying an area of 500,000 square meters, have gathered over 1000 enterprise with staffs totaling 10000 talents.
“This base will become an important platform for helping Ningbo gather more overseas talents which will provide more talents and wisdom for the “Six Speed-up Strategy” and marine economic development.” said Wang Haiguo, chairman of the Administrative Committee of Ningbo National High-tech Development Zone

Report of Foreign Trade of Small and Micro Enterprises of Ningbo

By October this year, Ningbo has 7,147 small and micro export-oriented enterprises, accounting for 72% of the total number (9,930) of the performing export enterprises. The following is a report of their present situation.

Entrusted by the Research and Development of the State Council, Ningbo Foreign Economic Cooperation Bureau released “Investigation Report of the Foreign Trade” of the small and micro export-oriented enterprises whose annual export is bellow 3 million US dollars in 2010.

The report shows that the small and micro enterprises are mainly engaged in the labour intensive industries like home appliances, light industrial products, metal products and textile products and that the export of high-tech products by these enterprises is obviously bellow the average of the city. Statistics show that from January to August this year, the export of mechanical and electrical products by the small and micro enterprises increased by 49.7% over the precious year, covering 58.5% of the total export of the city, 3.5 points higher than the average (55%) of the city. The export of hi-tech products by these enterprises increased by 41.9% above the same period of the previous year, covering 3.3% of the total export of the city, 5 points lower than the average (8.3%) of the city.

With respect to the source of funds for the enterprises, the report shows that a majority of the small and micro enterprises rely on their own funds. The enterprises investigated generally complain that the threshold for loans of banks is too high for the small and micro enterprises that banks do not have financial products that are fit for the small and micro enterprises and that they usually have to rely on their own funds or private loans to solve their financial problems, which are often high-cost.

The report concludes that the present situation is far from being satisfactory for the small and micro export-oriented enterprises of Ningbo.

From January to August this year, the export to the EU and the US by the small and micro enterprises of Ningbo has a rapid increase and the increase rate is relatively bigger than the increase of export to emerging markets. In the same period, the export by the small and micro enterprises to Africa, Latin America and ASEAN increased by 32.5%, 64.6% and 42.9% respectively, with the growth rates respectively 1.6, 1.9 and 1.3 times those of the average of the city.

The report shows that of the 7 difficulties listed on the questionnaire, 91% of the enterprises investigated believe the principal difficulty for them is the decrease of profit caused by the too fast appreciation of the yuan. 89.5% of the investigated enterprises believe the drastic increase of production cost and little rise of export price is one of their major difficulties. 59% of the enterprises investigated complain they have the problems of shortage of workers and the sluggish market demand

Ningbo Environmental Monitoring Center entitled a national model unit

At the 7th national meeting of environment protection held on December 20, Ningbo Environmental Monitoring Center was entitled “national model unit for environment protection” by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the State Environmental Protection Administration. The center is the only one in Zhejiang that wins the honor.

Ningbo Environmental Monitoring Center is an institution directly under Ningbo Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. It is a sub monitoring station of the state environment monitoring network. In recent years, the Center set up a key laboratory for the long-term monitoring of organic pollutants and emergency monitoring, which lays a solid foundation for the programs of disaster control, organic pollutant monitoring, bio-ecological monitoring, radiation monitoring and information automation.

At present, for Ningbo and even east Zhejiang, Ningbo Environmental Monitoring Center is an environment monitoring and forecasting center, a technological center for environment monitoring, a network center and data bank, a research center and a center for handling environment emergencies

"Ningbo-Hong Kong Industrial Design Center" settled on Ningbo Hefeng Creative Square

The other day, Ningbo Hefeng Creative Square and Hong Kong Polytechnic University signed an agreement on the establishment of the "Ningbo-Hong Kong Industrial Design Center". Yu Hongyi, Member of Ningbo Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor of Ningbo, attended the ceremony.

The College of Art and Design of Hong Kong Polytechnic University is cited by Business Week as one of the top 60 art designing schools of the world. It is a famous industrial designing school in Hong Kong, and a cooperative partner of the ICSID and the IDA. At the 10th Forum on Economic Cooperation of Ningbo and Hong Kong, Ningbo and Hong Kong had detailed talks and reached the intent for the establishment of the "Ningbo-Hong Kong Industrial Design Center".

Reportedly, Hong Kong Polytechnic University should play the leading role in the operation of the "Ningbo-Hong Kong Industrial Design Center". Ningbo Municipal Government and Hefeng Creative Square should give support needed for the operation of the center. Relying on the influence and resources of College of Art and Design of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and by means of the cooperation of enterprises and the designing center, the R&D, the training of young entrepreneurs and giving high-end services, the center aims to promote the industrial designing capacity of Ningbo and the core competitiveness of the square

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