The Beidou in the sky is already the Beidou around us.
In recent years,Hunan,as the birthplace of BeiDou technology innovation,has gathered more than 80%of the core technological resources of the domestic BeiDou industry.It has three academician workstations and more than 60 national and provincial innovation platforms,creating the first BeiDou open laboratory and the first high-precision navigation and positioning precision service platform in China.More than 60 patented technologies in the Beidou field of the National University of Defense Technology have been systematically transformed;In 2022,the cumulative authorized number of invention patents in the field of Beidou in Hunan reached 597,and the development of the Beidou industry has achieved a process from"breaking the cocoon"to"turning into a butterfly".
Why did the Beidou industry in Hunan achieve such great success in the past 10 years? What challenges does Hunan face behind expanding its industry? A reporter from China Economic Weekly conducted research with these questions in mind.
What are the advantages of developing the Beidou industry in Hunan？
The recently released"Development Plan for Beidou Industry in Hunan Province(2023-2027)"proposes to drive industry improvement and efficiency through technological innovation and scale application,and to build Hunan into a national Beidou technology innovation leading area,Beidou scale application demonstration area,and Beidou industry high-quality development agglomeration area.It aims to achieve the agglomeration development of the Changzhuyue Beidou industry and strive to achieve a Beidou industry scale of 100 billion yuan in the province by 2027.
Hunan is located in the central inland region,and there is a certain gap in scientific research,talent,and resource endowment compared to Beijing,Shanghai,and Guangzhou.Where does the confidence of developing strategic emerging industries such as the Beidou industry come from?
"Hunan is the original place of Beidou's advanced core technologies,and many key technologies have achieved breakthroughs in Hunan."Liu Jingnan,an academician of the CAE Member and director of the National Engineering Technology Research Center for Satellite Positioning System,said in an interview with China Economic Weekly that Hunan has unique advantages in developing the Beidou industry,and should seize the opportunity to make a good development plan for the Beidou industry chain,vigorously promote the integration of government,industry,university,research and application,and accelerate the development and scale application of the Beidou industry.
As an important source of Beidou technology and a demonstration area for innovative applications,the rapid development of the Beidou industry in Hunan cannot be separated from policy support.Hunan Province attaches great importance to the development of the BeiDou industry and has issued a series of planning policies,including the"Three Year Action Plan for Promoting BeiDou Applications and Precise Services in Hunan(2022-2024)","Several Measures for Deepening the Scale Application of BeiDou",and"Implementation Opinions on Coordinating the Application of BeiDou Satellite Navigation System Action Plan".The"Hunan Province BeiDou Technology and Product Recommendation Catalogue"has been compiled and issued for two consecutive years.
In late October of this year,the Hunan Provincial Government released several policy measures to accelerate the scale application of Beidou in Hunan Province,introducing policies from scientific and technological innovation,promoting the scale application of Beidou,and building a modern industrial chain to promote the growth and strength of the Beidou industry in Hunan.
"The rapid development of the Beidou industry in Hunan is also due to the government's attention,which has done a lot of forward-looking work in policy and industrial planning."Liu Yan,Chairman of Changsha Jinwei Information Technology Co.,Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as"Changsha Jinwei"),told a reporter from China Economic Weekly.
Established in 2013,Changsha Jinwei provides ground user baseband Soc chips for the Beidou system.Its products are widely used in fields such as intelligent transportation,drones,robots,and measurement and mapping.
As the only representative of private aerospace enterprises,Yang Feng,founder and CEO of Tianyi Research Institute,recently participated in the Ministerial Forum on International Cooperation in Natural Disaster Prevention and Emergency Management of the"the Belt and Road"held in Beijing.He is extremely excited about the company's value being recognized by the industry.The Changsha Tianyi Research Institute,where he works,has been settled in Changsha for 6 years and has carried out 14 space missions,successfully sending 25 satellites into space.
Yang Feng told a reporter from China Economic Weekly,"Changsha has advantages in industry and talent,with a good basic quality of talent.In addition,the cost of living is relatively low,and a large number of scientific research talents are willing to gather here to work.Changsha also has a certain industrial foundation,with a developed manufacturing industry and convenient industrial support."
Yang Feng revealed that the satellites manufactured by the company have formed a supporting industry chain in the local area."Originally,there was no manufacturer specialized in supporting satellite production in Changsha.With the landing of commercial satellite companies like ours and teaching some supporting manufacturers the necessary components for satellite manufacturing,this industry has gradually emerged.Currently,the nearest supporting manufacturer is less than 10 minutes away from the company.".
At present,Hunan Beidou Industry has established a number of industrial clusters,including the National(Changsha)Beidou Professional Characteristic Demonstration Park,Zhuzhou Beidou Industrial Park,and Yueyang Beidou Navigation Application Industrial Park,and has basically constructed a complete industrial chain covering spatial,ground,and user segments.
On October 27th,at the Beidou Scale Application"Chip"Technology Forum,Wang Yang,Executive Vice President of Xinyuan Microelectronics Co.,Ltd.,introduced that the Beidou industry is concentrated in five regions in China,including the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region,the Yangtze River Delta,the Pearl River Delta,central China,and the western region,which account for more than 75%of Beidou's national output value.
"In the national Beidou industry sector,Hunan's Beidou industry has a high position in terms of technology and talent,but there is still a gap in industrial scale compared to developed regions in Beijing,Shanghai,and Guangzhou.The pattern of Hunan's Beidou industry is:insufficient compared to above,surplus compared to below."Liu Yan said in an interview with China Economic Weekly.
The report on the development of the Beidou industry in Hunan Province and typical cases of scale application shows that as of 2022,the output value of the Beidou industry in Hunan Province has reached 38 billion yuan,with an average annual growth rate of over 25%,accounting for about 7.6%of the national Beidou industry scale.There are 515 Beidou enterprises,including over 50 enterprises above designated size,46 national and provincial-level specialized,refined,and new enterprises,and over 200 high-tech enterprises,forming a preliminary pattern of integrated development for large,medium,and small enterprises.
Liu Yan introduced that one advantage of the Beidou industry in Hunan is talent gathering,which can be attributed to the fact that the University of National Defense Technology is located in Hunan.The vast majority of Beidou industry technical engineers in Hunan are more or less related to the National University of Defense Technology.After leaving the university,these research talents trained by the National University of Defense Science and Technology freely flow in the market.They establish enterprises or enter research institutions to engage in Beidou research and development work,radiating and driving the development of the Beidou industry in Hunan.
During the interview,multiple interviewees told China Economic Weekly reporters that from a national perspective,Hunan ranks second in the Beidou research environment,talent supply,and overall research strength,only behind Beijing.This is also one of the most important reasons why they are willing to place the Beidou R&D team in Changsha.
What are the shortcomings of expanding the Beidou industry？
Liu Yan believes that"the lack of leading enterprises is an unavoidable problem in the development of the Beidou industry in Hunan."In the process of the development of the Beidou industry in Hunan,there are many"small and scattered"Beidou enterprises,but they have not been able to form a joint force,resulting in the dispersion of scientific and technological innovation capabilities.
Several individuals with scientific research backgrounds told China Economic Weekly reporters,"Some researchers from research institutions who run enterprises have a significant characteristic:they like to act independently,and everyone is dissatisfied with each other,which makes it difficult to integrate local scattered scientific research capabilities.In industries such as intelligent robots and Beidou in Hunan,there are a bunch of small and scattered enterprises without industrial scale or forming industrial synergy."
In the view of an industry insider who has been engaged in the Beidou industry for more than ten years,"Hunan Beidou ranks second in terms of talent and comprehensive scientific research strength in the country,but its industrial scale ranks fourth.This mismatch between scientific research capabilities and industrial scale is the direction for the future development of Hunan Beidou industry.".During the interview,several business leaders engaged in the Beidou industry told reporters,"The Beidou industry in Hunan looks very lively,but the comprehensive strength of the industry is not strong,especially the formation of industrial scale effects is difficult.".
From the perspective of profit distribution pattern,Hunan,as an important source of Beidou technology,has many key technologies and core products born in Hunan.The Beidou industry in Hunan province is doing the most difficult and arduous technical work,but only receiving a small portion of the profits from the industry chain,without forming an industrial scale effect;On the other hand,looking at the industrial positioning of Beijing,Shanghai,and Guangzhou-relying on industrial scale to expand the terminal market,its Beidou enterprises have taken away the profits of the large end of the industrial chain,and the Beidou industry scale has also grown accordingly.
"It is difficult to find money"is also a problem that many enterprise leaders"roast".Yang Feng revealed,"The company has not raised any funds in Hunan.My investors are all from Beijing,Shanghai,Guangzhou,and Shenzhen.In fact,from the bottom of our hearts,we also hope that government funds can invest to support the company's development,after all,we are in a capital intensive industry."
"Some local governments want to do things with high certainty.Strategic emerging industries such as chips and commercial satellites definitely have risks in the early stage of investment.If they dare not take risks,how can they reap the industry dividends?"A company leader engaged in Beidou chip design told a reporter from China Economic Weekly.
In addition,the industry believes that the operation and service industry of Hunan Beidou lacks overall planning.The above-mentioned person who has been engaged in the Beidou industry for more than ten years admitted,"The development plan for the operation and service industry derived from the Beidou industry in Hunan Province has not yet opened up its industrial ideas.Hunan has a certain industrial foundation in spatial geographic information operation services,but has not formed a development consensus."
How can Hunan make efforts in the face of the shortcomings in the development of the Beidou industry?Liu Yan believes that"firstly,Hunan should coordinate resources and have a clearer industrial positioning.For example,Changsha should leverage its advantages in scientific research and talent,focusing on exploring its advantages in research and development;while Zhuzhou should leverage its advantages in manpower and land costs to leverage its manufacturing advantages.Their respective industrial positioning should be clearer and more precise.Secondly,they should cultivate leading enterprises,actively promote the listing and financing of Beidou's segmented leading enterprises,leverage the'head goose'effect,drive the development of more Beidou enterprises,and form a scale effect of the Beidou industry.Thirdly,they should layout and plan the Beidou operation service industry,promote the formation of sustainable benefits from Beidou's geographic data and industrial operation services,and provide a continuous source of power for Hunan to grow and strengthen the Beidou industry."
(This article was published in the 22nd issue of China Economic Weekly in 2023)
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