The Era of IC Industrial Park 3.0: Agglomeration Effect Drives Rapid Development of the IC IndustryThe U.S. sanctions against ZTE drew global attention to China's IC industry. The development of this industry requires talent, technology, and, crucially, the physical space to host it along with supporting services. Whenever a new technology emerges, it attracts numerous entrepreneurs to gather for design, R&D, and production. This led to the creation of parks like Zhongguancun Information Industry Park and Zhongguancun Software Park, which foster agglomeration effects to rapidly advance the industry. Similarly, the IC industry needs such specialized parks to integrate the upstream and downstream segments of the chain and promote healthy development. Zhongguancun Integrated Circuit Design Park (IC Park) is one such park tailored specifically for the IC industry.Acting as a Service Provider to Help Tenants Grow Bigger and StrongerAs is well known, the state has elevated the development of the IC industry to a national strategic level, as it is vital to the nation's scientific and technological advancement. Having experienced the threat of being strangled, China has set new requirements for self-sufficiency in domestic chips. What is the mission and positioning of IC Park as a carrier for the IC industry? Miao Jun, Chairman of Beijing Zhongguancun Integrated Circuit Design Park Development Co., Ltd., explained in an interview with eeFocus: "We built this space to address the insufficient space, imperfect ecosystem, and incomplete supporting facilities for integrated circuit enterprises in Zhongguancun and Beijing. This park aims to fill the gap in Beijing's IC design industry development. Through the clustering of enterprises, industrial elements, R&D resources, and talent, it provides a comprehensive development environment for IC design companies. The park's mission is to become a world-class specialized park, enabling IC design companies from Beijing and across China to form a high-end cluster in northern Beijing, leading and driving high-speed growth. This also implements the national policy outlined in the National Integrated Circuit Industry Development Guidelines."IC Park's goal is to support IC design and related upstream/downstream enterprises in becoming bigger and stronger, acting as a market-oriented resource service platform. The park plays the role of a service provider, while the tenant companies are the protagonists. Its market positioning is to act as a service provider that coordinates market-based resources and offers services to promote technological innovation. The Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone primarily employs two methods: Firstly, the Zhongguancun Administrative Committee, as a government agency, coordinates park development policies and plans. Secondly, the Zhongguancun Development Group constructs the park and builds the industrial environment using market-oriented methods. Starting from China's first base focused on the electronic information industry, the Shangdi Information Industry Base in 1992, the zone has now expanded to one core area plus fourteen parks, with the Integrated Circuit Design Park being the newest. During park development, construction, operation, and management, the park provides high-tech enterprises with broader development space, more comfortable supporting environments, a more specialized industrial ecosystem, and a more comprehensive service system. Through these industrial organization and service efforts, high-tech enterprises can develop rapidly within the park, forming a high degree of industrial agglomeration and enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to grow into unicorns or even large corporations.Industrial Park 3.0 Era: Plan First, Build SecondZhongguancun started its construction in 1993 and has over 20 years of development history, which can be divided into Era 1.0, Era 2.0, and Era 3.0. These three eras have provided models and accumulated valuable experience for industrial park construction in Beijing and nationwide. Regarding the differences between Era 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, Chairman Miao Jun explained: "Innovations in development models have commonalities and differences. Commonalities: First, park development and construction implement national strategic development and government requirements, aiming to fulfill government tasks. Second, they use a rolling development model to promote sustainable park development. Third, they achieve a high degree of industrial and enterprise agglomeration. Fourth, they realize their own value and enhancement through park development. Differences lie in the development models, industrial positioning, carrier spaces, and service methods."In the Industrial Park 1.0 era, the state allocated land for a tech park, but the specific focus was often explored incrementally based on market changes. Problems included a mismatch between park amenities and enterprise needs, disparities between the park environment and employee expectations, and room for improvement in industrial positioning. The Industrial Park 2.0 era learned from the 1.0 era's lessons, beginning to create communities and improve environments. However, it failed to resolve the jobs-housing balance issue, as employees lacked supporting residential services, leading to imbalance.In the Industrial Park 3.0 era, the industrial positioning is determined first, followed by park planning. The park employs integrated planning covering six aspects: industrial planning, ecological planning, spatial planning, investment and financing planning, population planning, and operational management planning. In this era, the park's positioning is set first, followed by defining the ecological environment, industrial support facilities, living amenities, and operational management. Finally, the physical space is constructed, avoiding problems encountered in the previous two generations of parks.Chairman Miao Jun emphasized, "We focus on the integration of industry, academia, research, application, and finance. First, Industry: To attract enterprises, we joined the China Semiconductor Industry Association and the SEMI American Foundation. Through these associations, we build connections with companies and understand their needs. Second, Academia: We maintain close ties with universities. In 2016, we signed cooperation agreements with six microelectronics schools in Beijing, establishing comprehensive collaboration on talent, projects, and student placement, forming a long-term mechanism. Third, Research: We stay connected with R&D institutions, monitor industry trends, and understand the key directions of the IC design industry. Fourth, Application: We connect with upstream and downstream IC enterprises. The park's tenants are not only involved in IC design but also cover upstream software, algorithms, and downstream cloud computing and IoT related to IC design. IC design companies form the core, accounting for 50% of tenants, with the remaining 50% being supporting upstream and downstream businesses. Fifth, Finance: We use financial tools to support park development. Firstly, we extensively collaborate with banks to provide good services for enterprises."Collaboration, Not Competition, Between RegionsAs we know, besides Zhongguancun, specialized industrial parks are being vigorously developed nationwide. Some focus on IC design, others on IC manufacturing, and others on different applications. Inevitably, there might be regional competition. How does IC Park attract enterprises and foster their substantial growth? Chairman Miao Jun stated, "We don't see this as competition but as cooperation. Zhongguancun has been developing for 30 years. The central government's requirement for Beijing is to be a technological innovation center, and Zhongguancun is tasked with having a radiating and driving effect. Zhongguancun has industrial and park cooperation with 39 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, including tier-one and tier-two regions. The Development Group has a regional cooperation division, which includes Zhongguancun Collaborative Development Co. and Zhongguancun Collaborative Fund Co., specifically tasked with radiating Zhongguancun's innovation resources outward to drive scientific innovation in other provinces."Chairman Miao Jun pointed out, "Beijing has advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include easier access to talent, faster product R&D, and better profitability for companies. Disadvantages include high rents and costs. Of course, Beijing is considering policies to improve the business environment and retain high-end talent. We are confident that companies choosing to stay in Beijing and IC Park value Beijing's resource advantages. Our relationship with parks in other regions, even with Yizhuang in Beijing, is not competitive but collaborative. Companies choose their location based on their needs; we just focus on making IC Park excellent enough for them to choose us."IC Park is soon to be delivered. The park layout map includes many familiar names, such as GigaDevice, Bitmain, and Zhaoxin. Forty companies, including these, are expected to complete their interior work and move in by year-end, projected to generate an annual output value of 24 billion RMB. It is hoped that more IC design companies will gather here, making it China's "Silicon Valley."
