Guiyang, Guian New Area fast becoming China’s ‘big data valley’
Guiyang in Southwest China’s Guizhou province is ramping up its digital economic development, with the goal of the digital economy accounting for 45% of the city’s GDP by 2025, according to its five-year action plan.
By 2025, Guiyang and Guian New Area will have three industrial clusters centered on big data centers, electronic information, and software and information technology. Each of the industrial clusters will be capable of generating 100 billion yuan ($15.6 billion) in annual business income, according to the plan.
Approved as a national new area by the State Council in 2014, and therefore given special economic and development support by the government, Guian New Area is located at the junction of Guiyang and Anshun. The cities are developing big data businesses and the new area is key in Guizhou becoming China’s “big data valley”.
In 2014, the new area began building big data centers. It has developed rapidly with seven large scale big data projects as of 2020 involving telecommunications companies China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, and tech companies Huawei, Tencent and Apple.
Official data show they have drawn a combined investment of 10.21 billion yuan.
“Guian New Area has become a strong arena for the development of the digital economy,” said Wang Jun, director of the area’s big data service center.
Over years of development, the new area has attracted many big data businesses from across China and become a pilot zone for the country’s big data applications and innovation.
The new area plans to build 14 data enters near the Tencent Data Center, which covers some 19 square miles, according to Wang.
These facilities are expected to attract investments totaling more than 40 billion yuan and will be capable of operating more than 4 million servers, he said.
The Apple iCloud China (Guian) Data Center opened on May 25. It is the first big data center in the country to be completely powered by renewable resources.
The center, which began construction in 2018, is collaboratively built between Guizhou-Cloud Big Data and Apple. Local officials said it is a good example of how the national big data comprehensive experimental zone is being developed with international cooperation.
Guian New Area began constructing 5G base stations in 2019 and has seen rapid growth in 5G-powered education, manufacturing and trade. The technology has provided another step in economic upgrades and transformation.
Fugejiaoyu, an online education provider founded in 2013 in the new area, is using big data and 5G to develop a virtual reality teaching model.
“A 5G network enables us to better conduct online teaching and allows students to have more effective communication with teachers,” said Fang Hengliang, vicepresident of the company.
With 5G, it is becoming easier to upload data and design tailor-made educational products, Fang added.
The new area built 617 5G base stations in 2020 and expects to build another 10,000 in the next five years, according to local officials.
“As the core zone for implementing the national big data comprehensive pilot experiment in Guizhou province, Guiyang and Guian New Area have been dedicated to making achievements in leading the development of the big data industry,” said Guiyang Mayor Chen Yan.
Statistics from the Guiyang bureau of big data development and management show that the number of big data companies in the city was more than 5,000 in 2020. Meanwhile, the added value of the digital economy reached 164.9 billion yuan, accounting for 38.2% of the city’s GDP.
Guian New Area and Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province signed an agreement in November 2020 to build a collaborative industrial park in the new area.
“We hope to introduce Guizhou’s preferential policies to more businesses from Suzhou, and to implement these policies in cooperation with local authorities to inject
new vitality into promoting the development of companies and the new area,” said Wu Xuejun, general manager of the company operating the collaborative industrial park.
Yozosoft, an IT company headquartered in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, set up a branch in the new area this year.
“There are preferential policies in cities around the country, but it is Guizhou’s openness and practical spirit that attracted us to set up business here,” said Xu Yongqiang, chairman of Yozosoft. “The most important factor is that the city can drive the development of the software industry through its market.”
In May, Guizhou held a promotional event to attract businesses from Jiangsu. As a result, the new area signed 33 projects with a combined intentional investment of 49.59 billion yuan.