Liao Feng, president of the Vica Group, a company engaging in health care products based in Zhongguancun Science Park, found that his company's cooperation with research institutes was not mutually beneficial.

"The biggest problem found was that it is not clear who is controlling the direction of the cooperated research and the allocation of the technology resources. We want the research to be market-oriented but the researchers of our partners want the research to help them publish their papers. In the end, the research often sways to the research institutes," he said.

Things started to change when Liao began his cooperation with the Zhongguancun Open Lab Alliance. The Alliance, established in 2006 and funded by the Beijing Municipal Government, will have acquired more than 100 labs by December including some of China top ones, such as: Thsinghua Information Technology Lab and Institute of Biophysics and Institute of Microelectronics of Chinese Academy of Science.

"The Zhongguancun Open Lab, to some extent, solved my problem. As I initiated and funded the program, I can now decide the direction of the research. I also choose how to best allocate resources for the program." Liao said.

"By December, 77 collaborated institutes have been set up by companies in Zhongguancun and the Alliance members. The Open Lab can provide technology support testing, certification and personnel training for the companies. The companies can in turn, help institutes put their research results into production and be more market-oriented. Zhu Xiduo is the vice chairman of Beijing's Non-governmental Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Association and is responsible for helping the companies find the right labs.

"Any company in the Zhongguancun Science Park can file an application to join the Alliance," he said.