When Hua Jianhui came to Huaibei as party secretary in 2005, the town in Anhui province was known for nothing more than its various historical sites and rustic scenery. The local economy revolved around the mining of its rich coal deposits. But Hua, who was 50, harbored a different vision for her new home.

Fired by her passion to turn Huaibei into what she later described as "the patent capital of China," Hua was the driving force behind efforts to host the rather unusual Patent Technology Recommendation Conference, which was held for the first time in May 2006, less than a year after she arrived.

Talking to China Business Weekly reporter Tuo Yannan at the third patent conference in May this year, Hua remained as enthusiastic as when she first broached the idea to her colleagues three years ago.

Q: What progress have you made in efforts to transform Huaibei from a coal mining town into a haven of innovation?

A: Huaibei is located in the north of Anhui province with a total output amounting to 25.9 billion yuan in 2007. It now has more than 2,000 industrial enterprises, with coal and machinery being the mainstays. The town produces 36 million tons of coal a year, ranking fourth in the country. As such, Huaibei's economy has always been energy base. But in the past several years, we have tried to diversify the city's industrial base into higher-value added manufacturing and to establish a favorable environment for the development of a hi-tech industry. The patent conference is an important part of our efforts in that direction.

Q: There are 19 towns staging events similar to the patent technology recommendation conferences every year. What's special about the Haibei conference?

A: Huaibei has been highly dependent on the coal industry because it accounted for about 80 percent of the city's industrial output. In Huaibei's five year plan, we made the commitment to reduce that ratio to about 30 percent. The emphasis of our patent conference is to promote the development of the secondary industries and the services sector. For that reason, special attention has been paid to technology patents.

In addition, we have introduced preferential policies to attract enterprises investing in hi-tech industries. Last year's conference gave birth to at least 22 manufacturing projects, involving 21.95 million yuan worth of patents. These projects are expected to produce a combined turnover of 600 million yuan, yielding an estimated aggregate profit of more than 50 million yuan. The implementation of these projects will generate considerable economic benefits to Huaibei.

Q: Can you describe some of the more important preferential policies to attract investors in innovation?

A: We have established five economic zones in different districts outside Huaibei town center to provide land and supporting services to selected industrial enterprises. Incentives to tenants in those industrial zones include tax and land rental concessions.

(China Daily 05/26/2008 page9)