In the Xiong'an New Area today, construction cranes dot the skyline as the city physically rises, while a parallel digital infrastructure boom is equally fervent in the cloud. To date, more than 50 state-owned enterprise (SOE)-affiliated digital technology companies have set up operations in Xiong'an. What drives these 'national team' players, armed with cutting-edge technologies, to unanimously focus their attention on this burgeoning land? What are their strategic plans? And how is this grand chess game for the future being played? The answers lie within Xiong'an, a vast and growing 'super testbed'.
Where to start
These state-owned digital tech firms are arriving in Xiong'an, first and foremost, to transform traditional industries and invigorate industrial momentum with new technologies. Taking China Post as an example, its newly established Zhongyou Information Technology (Xiong'an) Co., Ltd. is concentrating on the digital transformation and upgrading of postal services, the construction of a smart logistics system, and the expansion of digital financial services. It is dedicated to deeply integrating postal services with new-generation information technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and blockchain.
In the realm of energy digitalization and intelligence, Kunlun Digital Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of PetroChina, has relocated its entire new energy and innovative business segment to Xiong'an. It is focused on building a smart new energy system, applying industrial internet and AI technologies across the entire new energy business chain. This approach weaves a 'digital sensory network' for the new energy industry, shifting energy operations from 'experience-driven' to 'data-driven'.
Looking at the bulk commodity supply chain sector, Wutong Port (Xiong'an) Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., established through joint investment by entities including COSCO Shipping Logistics Supply Chain Co., Ltd., CITIC Metal Group Co., Ltd., and CITIC Cloud Network Co., Ltd., has moved its headquarters to Xiong'an. Leveraging blockchain, IoT, and AI-powered spatial recognition models, it has equipped physical inventory with 'long-range vision' and 'trackers'. The past challenge of goods becoming 'invisible' in warehouses is being solved. These technological methods not only revitalize the supply chain but also connect the 'lifeblood' of over 40 financial institutions, making the circulation of the real economy smoother.
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If empowering traditional industries represents 'holding the line', then laying the groundwork for future industries is the 'surprise move'. In the 'hardcore chip' field, Chiprise Technology Co., Ltd., under China Mobile IoT, specializes in RISC-V (an open-source reduced instruction set computer architecture) chips. It has successively released the world's first RISC-V core Super SIM chip and China's first RISC-V core satellite + cellular dual-mode IoT-NTN chip. Concurrently, Xiong'an is vigorously promoting the adoption of 'ubiquitous HarmonyOS' and 'ubiquitous IPv6'. Through this software-hardware synergy, this digital city is fortifying the nation's digital security with a self-developed and controllable chip foundation.
Chip autonomy is crucial, but so is autonomy in manufacturing precision. Guotou (Xiong'an) Advanced Electronic Manufacturing Industry Innovation Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Development & Investment Corporation, has built and put into operation the world's first nano-level micro-vibration laboratory. It specializes in conducting 'stability check-ups' for core components like lithography machines, satellite payloads, and precision sensors. This technology effectively acts as a 'nano-level voltage stabilizer' for precision manufacturing, filling a critical upstream testing gap in high-end electronics manufacturing and upholding the precision baseline for Xiong'an's future industries like aerospace information and semiconductors.
The key takeaway
In the era of the digital economy, data is the new 'oil'. Xiong'an is not only building city-level data centers that aggregate over 40 billion high-quality data points but is also striving to construct the 'high-speed highways' for data circulation, enabling massive data to truly flow and empower urban governance and the digital transformation across all industries.
More notably, these state-owned digital tech enterprises are not operating in isolation. Instead, on Xiong'an's 'digital black soil', they are collectively cultivating a vibrant 'tropical rainforest' ecosystem. For instance, Chiprise Technology, in collaboration with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Xiong'an Group's Digital City Company, Xiong'an Mobile, and others, developed the Super SIM card. This card integrates functions like the digital yuan, digital ID, and digital access control, turning a smartphone into a 'master key' for unlocking digital life.
Simultaneously, the government is proactively opening its doors, providing application scenarios in urban governance, smart transportation, and digital yuan consumption, offering a 'training ground' for enterprises' new products.
The clustering of over 50 state-owned digital tech enterprises in Xiong'an signifies a move far beyond mere investment attraction. They bring not just capital and technology, but a continuous stream of advanced productive forces. Relying on the digital infrastructure and large-scale AI models these companies are building, Xiong'an is transforming into a self-regulating, real-time sensing 'urban intelligent organism'. Whether it's piloting data element circulation or researching and developing self-reliant chips, Xiong'an is exploring the path for the entire nation. It is precisely the deep involvement of these state-owned digital technology enterprises that has equipped this modern new city with a powerful 'digital engine', allowing the shape of the future to be previewed here today.