China - October 07, 2024

Private enterprises lead tech innovation in China's economic powerhouse Zhejiang

(Voice_over)

Over the years, east China's Zhejiang Province has grown into one of the country's most powerful economic bases with private enterprises a major driving force.

In 2023, the private sector of Zhejiang contributed to more than 70 percent of the province's tax revenue, over 80 percent of its foreign trade and nearly 90 percent of its jobs.

In addition to the hi-tech firms like Alibaba that call the province home, a range of innovative companies are designing and manufacturing their products here.

A researcher at an optics manufacturing company describes a lens they produced for China's space industry.

(Sound_bite)

Cui Zhiying, head of research institute, optics manufacturing company:

"This photograph was taken by the microscope beside me, which can capture images with an astonishing precision of one two-thousandth of a human hair's width. We have participated in the lens manufacturing for China lunar probe missions of Chang'e-2, Chang'e-3, and Chang'e-4, effectively equipping these lunar probes with 'bright eyes' to aid in capturing detailed images of the moon's surface."

(Voice_over)

Another company in the province spent years on R&D to develop the country's first domestically made polyester mooring cables, which will be used to anchor offshore oil and gas platforms to the seabed.

(Sound_bite)

Li Maoju, general manager,Zhejiang Four Brothers Rope Industry Co., Ltd.:

"This is our R and D laboratory, now doing the cable tension fatigue test. Over the past 10 years, we have developed and produced China's first domestically made polyester mooring cable, achieving a significant breakthrough in national marine equipment technologies from 0 to 1. The breaking tensile strength of a single cable exceeds 2,300 tons, and 16 of these cables can securely anchor an offshore oil and gas platform weighing up to 100,000 tons."

(Voice_over)

Still other companies are tapping into the circular economy by turning construction waste into new building materials.

(Sound_bite)

Shao Zhang, project manager:

"This inorganic eco-stone was transformed from shield tunneling slurry by using our innovative technology. Previously, the shield slurry generated during urban tunnel and subway construction could only be disposed of through burial or dumping, with no means for recycling and resue. Yet, after conducting thousands of experiments, our technical team has achieved a significant breakthrough this year, successfully converting shield slurry into inorganic eco-stone, or say turning waste into treasure."

(Voice_over)

In the latest list of China's top 500 private enterprises, 108 are from Zhejiang, the highest number among all the provinces.

[Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]