Li calls on entrepreneurs and innovators to drive growth

Recognition

The game was the highlight of the premier's visit to a business startup center in Jingrong, a town in what was then Pixian county. Earlier this month, the county, 30 kilometers from Chengdu's downtown, was renamed Pidu district in recognition of its growing economy and population.

In 2014, many buildings in the center's courtyard were left vacant when Foxconn Technology Group, an electronics company from Taiwan, moved its factory to Henan province, resulting in the departure of 30,000 workers.

Early last year, a decision was made to convert the residential complex into offices for startups, which can use the facilities free-of-charge for the first three years and are provided with free utilities.

To help the startups survive the embryonic stage, the district established a fund of 1.3 billion yuan, and also arranged for the companies to use technologies developed by researchers at 18 universities and colleges near Jingrong.

So far, more than 10,000 people from first-tier Chinese cities and overseas have gathered in the small town and established more than 850 startups. Local officials are delighted that the businesses are registered in their area because the companies will pay taxes to the local government when they eventually start making profits.

The premier likened the changes－converting vacant buildings into enterprise bases－to the way new-economy companies go public via reverse mergers with companies in traditional industries.

New sectors, such as big data, are also thriving in Jingrong. Li was especially interested in two indexes, established by the University of Electronic Science and Technology and the State Information Center, that chart the development of new-economy companies and startups, when he visited their offices ahead of the badminton game.

When the indexes' chief analysts requested that the government share more information about the new industries, Li said the indexes should be improved so they could act as reference points and help the government to formulate policies and decisions.