By Gao Lei

QINGDAO:  Qingdao''s  hi-tech industries  will  soon  account for  more  than  half  the  city''s total income.

The city''s hi-tech industries registered   33 billion yuan ($31 billion) in production output in 2006, a 22 percent increase on the previous year, according to Qingdao''s Statistics and Science & Technology Bureaus.

Electronic  appliances,  me- chanics,  communication  de- vices,  computers,  automobiles, synthetic materials and air con- ditioners now account for almost a quarter of Shandong province''s total industrial capacity.

By 2010, Qingdao''s hi-tech in- dustries will earn 354.5 billion yuan  ($47  billion)  to  account for 45 percent of the city''s total industrial capacity.

Technological  Innovation System Investment  in  technological innovation  has  witnessed  a steady increase in the past two years, with more than 10 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) spent annu- ally  on  more  than  1,200  new projects.

Qingdao founded the natural science foundation and China''s first "city-level key lab" project.

More  than  700,000  people joined  including  70  thousand scientists conducting research in 91 different key labs.

Cluster of Famous Brands This year the contribution of hi-tech industries to Qingdao''s famous enterprises ranks top of Shandong''s 17 major cities.

The Haier Group has obtained 6,189 patent certificates and in- tellectual property rights to 589 separate software applications.

Haier''s proposal for safe wa- ter-heating technology was ac- cepted at the 66th International Electrotechnical  Commission (IEC) Conference.

And  the  company''s  dual- drive  washing  machine  was listed as the  2006 IEC standard, clearly  demonstrating  Haier''s world-class R&D capabilities.

Hisense  made  China''s  first industrialized  digital  media processingchip,abreakthrough that ended foreign domination in the manufacture of chips for color televisions.

Haier,  Hisense,  Brightmoon Group  and  Yebio  are  the  big five  national-level  technology centers  to  set  up  its  home  in Qingdao.

From  Marine  Science  to Marine Economy Qingdao,  a  coastal  city,  is also home to 50 percent of Chi- na''s  oceanic  researchers,  who conduct  most  of  the  country''s research projects in their field.

Qingdao  has  become  a  ma- jor  manufacturer  of  marine medicine and health products, with nearly 100 subjects under research.

In  the  oceanic  chemical  in- dustry,  the  city''s  Brightmoon Group  produces  more  sodium alginate than any other compa- ny in the world, accounting for a third of the global market.

"Marine economy has main- tained over  20 percent increase annually,"  Mayor  Xia  Geng said  at  the  8th  International Forum on Marine Science and Technology  and  Economic  De- velopment.

Rising Hi-tech Industries Major  marine  industries totaled  86  billion  yuan  ($11.3 billion) in production value in 2006,  an  eighth  of  Qingdao''s total economic capacity Always   encouraging   the development  of  new  hi-tech industries,  Qingdao''s  software scene has grown 10 fold since 2003 into a  20 billion yuan ($ 2.6 billion) business.