Coming: A Silicon Delta for the PRD

Xi Jinping wants China to be a global leader in 10 chosen industries, including the Internet, big data, electric vehicles, semiconductors, robotics, pharmaceuticals
and artificial intelligence, by 2025 . . .

THE Pearl River Delta is morphing into what some now dub Silicon Delta, China’s answer to Silicon Valley in California.
China is home to some of the world’s most valuable ‘unicorns’ — private companies valued at US$1 billion or more — while its top tech companies now rank among the world’s tech leaders.
Such is the optimism surrounding China’s growing innovation potential that some believe the “next big thing” could well come out of Silicon Delta.
Addressing the HSBC Australia China Conference in Sydney in November, Frederic Neumann, HSBC‘s Co-Head Asian Economics, said China is making great advances in high-tech industries.
“One thing I really want to stress is that China is no longer a copycat market. Some of the most exciting innovations are happening in China,” he said.
Helen Wong, HSBC’s Chief Executive, Greater China, concurs: There was a time — not so long ago, actually — when Chinese tech companies were dismissed as mere copycats,” she says. “But not any more. China is now punching above its weight on innovation.