Chi Binyuan:First Tech Millionaire

by+Xu+Shuyuan

On a wall in the lab where he once worked， the slogans in Chinese are still visible， such as “Beautiful Zhuhai is a good choice for business development，” depicting Chis feelings during Deng Xiaopings inspection of the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone （SEZ） in Guangdong Province.

Chi Binyuan， dubbed “Zhuhais pioneer in contributing technology as shares，” remained committed to the research and development of pharmaceuticals all his life， proving the axiom that“science and technology are the primary productive force.”

In his early years， Chi Binyuan specialized in extracting and purifying thrombin， an effective hemostatic agent， from pig blood， in Lanzhou， Gansu Province. At that time， only a few countries such as Britain， the United States， and Japan could make it from human and cow blood. China was dependent on high-priced imports.

Chi insisted on exacting blood from pigs， which were readily available. During his experiments， he often shuttled between his home and office on a broken bicycle. Regardless of the weather， every day he acquired a big bucket of pig blood from Lanzhou Stockyard 10 kilometers away from his hospital lab. Good things come to those who wait. In 1979 he finally found success， greatly shrinking medical treatment costs.

Unfortunately， his revolutionary achievement was ignored until 1987 when Chi and his wife brought it to Zhuhai after a recommendation from the China Association for Science and Technology， where the inventor found a partner to produce lyophilized agent of thrombin in the newly-established Zhuhai Biochemical-Pharmaceutical Factory （ZBPF）， which implemented a chief engineer responsibility system.

ZBPF made more than 6 million yuan in profits the first year of its operation and 80 million yuan in net profit the next year. Within a short period， Chi transformed an enterprise with an investment of 4.2 million yuan into a juggernaut with fixed assets of over 70 million yuan and a sterling reputation across the country.

During his inspection tour of Zhuhai in January 1992， Deng Xiaoping called ZBPF a “must-visit.” Upon hearing that Chis product already found a niche in the international market， Deng was thrilled： “We need to create our own popular products as well as famous Chinese brands or well get pushed around.”

On March 9， 1992， Zhuhai SEZ rocked the country with its generous awards policy for scientific and technological talent. Chi Binyuan was honored as part of the first group of special awards recipients with an Audi sedan， an apartment， and a bonus of 287，184 yuan， a package comparable to winning the Nobel Prize， and became the citys first “tech millionaire.” Since then， no one else has paralleled his lofty achievements.

“The purpose of our generous award is to attract ‘lions to the city，” illustrated Mayor Liang Guangda. Obviously， Chi Binyuan was one such “lion.”

Chi experienced ups and downs after his award. Despite whatever was thrown at him， on one point he remained firm： His faith in the Zhuhai SEZ， which fully utilized his talent and encouraged him to pursue his dream of establishing a world-class pharmaceutical plant.

Chi died of heart attack in Beijing on November 30， 2004， at the age of 66.