MODERN WORKSHOP: Workers assemble computer monitors in a workshop of Guangxi Great Wall Computer Co. Ltd. in Beihai (COURTESY OF BEIHAI INFORMATION OFFICE)

Achievements

With the completion of the CEC (China Electronics Corp.) Beihai Electronics Industrial Park opened on December 30, 2009, where almost all electronic and IT companies in the city are located now, the city's electronic information industry has come into the orbit of rapid development.

In the past two years, the industrial park has created many "firsts" in Guangxi and even in China.

The first production line of solid tantalum capacitors in China went into operation in Jing Guang (Hong Kong) Electronic Co. Ltd. The first laptop battery and computer power of Guangxi was produced in Beihai Great Wall Energy Technology Ltd. The first batch of Self-Adaptive LED display of Guangxi was produced by Guangxi Great Wall Computer Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the state-owned China Great Wall Computer Group Co. Ltd. The first LCD television of Guangxi was produced by Beihai New Future Information Industry Co. Ltd. The first LED light of Guangxi was produced by Beihai Kuantech Co. Ltd.

It is worth noting that Netac Technology Co. Ltd., a world leading manufacturer and solution provider of USB Flash Drive and MP3 player entered the industrial park on May 28, 2011. So has 3nod, the world's No.1 solution provider of audio products.

The output of the electronic information industry in Beihai rose from 7.68 billion yuan ($1.184 billion) in 2008 to 18.7 billion yuan ($2.884 billion) in 2010, accounting for about two thirds of the total output of electronic information industry in Guangxi.

Predictions hold that the output will hit 30 billion yuan ($4.62 billion) by the end of 2011 and surpass 100 billion yuan ($15.38 billion) in 2015. Such rapid growth will greatly boost the local economy and promote employment.

Challenges

Bright prospects aren't the only thing lying ahead for the city.

"We are still behind some advanced cities in the scale and the research ability of the electronic information industry," Lian said.

The advanced cities refer to cities Shenzhen in Guangdong Province in the Pearl River Delta, and Shanghai, Suzhou of Jiangsu Province and Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province in the Yangtze River Delta.

Meanwhile, the logistics cost remains high, Lian said. Although Beihai has a complete transportation network, including a deepwater port, airport, railway and express highway, its logistics costs are still higher than other cities such as Shenzhen, which has long been a distribution center. Currently, the delivery of Beihai's products needs to go through Shenzhen.

Competition with neighboring cities also forms a challenge.

"For a long time, we have been beset by the concern that it is difficult to avoid competition with our neighboring cities, due to our similar locations, resources, industries and development projects," said Liao Dequan, Vice Mayor of Beihai, in his book meditating on the development path for Beihai published in October 2010.

"But now, we have adopted a positive attitude to the competition," Liao said.

"The key for us is to build our own strength. Now we only need to build our information industry parks, equipping them with the most preferential policies and the most effective measures," Liao said.

"In the meantime, we should also develop supporting services, such as logistics, to form an industry chain," he added.

A dearth of talent is another problem. "We are absorbing talented people with our thriving industry and the broad prospect of making a good career here. Also, we are putting in time to train local people to enable them to become skilled and experienced quickly," said Gao Xishun, Manager of the Development Department of the CEC Beihai Electronics Industrial Park.

Quick Facts on Beihai (2010)

Location: 108.50-109.47 degrees east longitude and 20.26-21.55 degrees north latitude

Area: 3,337 square km

Population: 1,600,000

GDP: 39.76 billion yuan ($6.12 billion), up 17.6%

Foreign trade: $1.37 billion