Changes Arising as Tens of Thousands of Researchers Flock to China's 'Fake City' Modeled After Europe [Tech Talk]

Huawei’s Mega R&D Campus
Mocked for "Copying European Cities"
Accommodates 25,000 Researchers, Driving Innovation
Preserving Huawei’s Competitiveness in Times of Crisis

Despite the high-intensity sanctions against China that have continued since the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, Huawei has been steadily innovating. It is already the world’s number one in the global telecommunications equipment market, has succeeded in developing its own smartphone application processor (AP), and is even pursuing technological independence in China with its artificial intelligence (AI) processors.

Huawei’s resilience in times of crisis stems from its research and development (R&D), into which it invests 23.4% of its annual revenue (based on the 2023 fiscal year). In particular, Huawei’s R&D headquarters, the 'Songshan Lake Xiliubei Po Village (Xicun) R&D Base,' became a decisive card that saved Huawei during difficult times.

A research complex half the size of Yeouido accommodating 25,000 researchers

Huawei Xicheng Research and Development Base. Huawei

Huawei’s R&D command center is the Xicun R&D base located in Dongguan City near Shenzhen. In China, it is also called the 'Huawei European Village.' Although Huawei is a Chinese company and this research complex was developed on Chinese soil, the name 'European Village' may seem somewhat odd. In fact, when it was first developed, this place sparked controversy as a 'fake European city.'

The Xicun base was started in 2014 and completed in 2019. The total area is about 540,000 pyeong (approximately 1.78 million square meters), roughly half the size of Yeouido. On this enormous site, buildings imitating European-style apartments and palaces were constructed. One building is said to closely resemble the Palace of Versailles in France. The local design magazine 'Domus China' strongly criticized the campus upon its completion, calling it a "soulless puppet building."

Each section of the campus was named after famous European cities, such as Cambridge, Paris, Heidelberg, and Bologna. A man-made river created by Huawei runs through the campus, and a light rail resembling a Swiss mountain tram serves as the main mode of transportation. The Xicun base, dedicated solely to R&D work, can accommodate 25,000 researchers at once.

The entire site is one laboratory... preserving Huawei’s competitiveness

Electric tram, the transportation means of Sichon Base. Controlled by advanced communication equipment developed by Huawei. Huawei

The true value of the Xicun base lies in the technology supporting the campus infrastructure. Even the tram, the main mode of transportation in the city, is actually an electric vehicle designed to mimic the shape of a tram. It was manufactured using cutting-edge batteries, communication systems, and innovative wireless charging technology that currently exists only as patents. A temporary 5G communication station was built for tens of thousands of researchers, and electricity management is optimized through a distributed power grid.

The technologies experimentally introduced here may later be patented by Huawei to strengthen the company’s technological dominance or be incorporated into new products. In other words, the entire Xicun base serves as Huawei’s new technology testing center.

Huawei’s telecommunications research division, which holds a 31% share of the global network equipment market (2023), is also located in Xicun. The 'Antenna (天線) Innovation Center,' which developed Huawei’s 4G and 5G network equipment, was established here, employing thousands of telecommunications engineers. For employees, the innovation center is not just a workplace but also a meeting place, restaurant, caf?, and leisure center. The company takes full responsibility for all services necessary for daily life, enabling core engineers to focus solely on product development.

Bell Labs building in New Jersey, USA. The research and development strategy of accommodating thousands of researchers on a vast campus to focus on technology development was first devised by American corporations in the early 20th century. Abandoned America Archive

The development strategy of "gathering numerous researchers in one space to focus solely on research" was actually first devised in the United States. The Bell Labs, established in 1925, was the origin. Bell Labs, founded with 50% stakes each from the giant U.S. telecommunications companies AT&T and Western Electric, was the world’s first corporate mega research complex and contributed to U.S. telecommunications innovation throughout the 20th century. At its peak in the 1960s, Bell Labs employed about 12,000 PhD-level researchers and produced 13 Nobel laureates. Numerous innovations, from wired and wireless communications to the invention of the transistor, a core component of modern semiconductors, emerged from Bell Labs.

However, now it seems that Chinese companies are the most actively engaged in 'large-scale research.' BYD, China’s number one electric vehicle company, announced last year that it would invest 20 billion yuan to build a 190,000-pyeong R&D campus in Longgang District, Shenzhen. This campus will not only research vehicle design but also house numerous basic science and technology laboratories for nano-optics and polymer new material research.

China’s scientific rise... U.S.-China scientific cooperation also strained

Some predict that China’s science and technology will not be limited to a few large corporations but may soon catch up to the global leader, the United States. Caroline Wagner, a science policy expert and professor of public administration at Ohio University, analyzed China’s research capabilities in detail in an article for the nonprofit academic media 'The Conversation.' Professor Wagner stated, "In the 1980s, China’s academic research papers accounted for less than 2% globally, but by my calculations, it reached 25% in 2023," adding, "This ended the U.S.’s 75-year reign at the top."

Ironically, China’s rise in science has acted as a catalyst for U.S.-China scientific cooperation. Professor Wagner explained, "Since 2013, China has become the United States’ largest partner in science, with thousands of Chinese students and scholars participating in joint U.S. research."

However, as China has rapidly caught up to U.S. technology, scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries has begun to change. In December last year, the U.S. and China signed a new quantum technology agreement. This agreement renews and revises the one signed in 1979, but its details differ from the past. Previously, the agreement encouraged joint research and collaboration between U.S. and Chinese scientists, but the new agreement significantly restricts the scope of Chinese scientists’ participation in U.S. projects and adds mechanisms for resolving potential disputes.