Zhongguancun demonstration area continued to record strong economic growth from January to May 2017.

The gross income of enterprises above designated size totalled 1,646.8 billion yuan ($242.9 billion), an increase of 16.3 percent compared with the same period last year, and technical income accounted for 13.3 percent. Baidu, Sougou, and a further 2,058 large enterprises, contributed to more than half of the gross income total.

Total industrial output value grew by 13.7 percent and hit 376.9 billion yuan. The main economic driving forces, like new products and new technologies, helped optimise the industrial structure. Key enterprises played leading roles. For example, Beijing Automobile Industry Corporation has driven development of the automobile industry in cooperation with Baidu in intelligent driving and navigation.

Exports by domestic enterprises reached $10.1 billion –– a rise of 14.1 percent. The most significant statistic was recorded for exports of technological innovations which accounted for 15 percent.

Zhongguancun cooperates with more than 30 international organisations for better utilisation of resources. More than half of Chinese companies in the rankings of CB Insights Global Unicorn Club are from Zhongguancun.

The company invested 57.5 billion yuan in research –– with some significant breakthroughs. It also made 26,331 patent applications, with 15,951 being granted between January and May –– around 40 percent of the total for patent applications made in Beijing.

Six key high-tech fields contributed to 77 percent of Zhongguancun’s total gross income of 1,267.8 billion yuan. The development of advanced manufacturing, new energy, energy-saving products, and the environmental protection industry have all accelerated, while development in electronic information and the bioengineering and pharmaceutical industries has slowed down.

The modern service industry gained increasing prominence with growth of 16.1 percent, totalling 1,046.3 billion yuan. The development and growth of e-commerce is driving the prosperity of the industry.