**4.2 The 'Great Stone': the potential of high-tech hub**

The 'Great Stone' industrial park's key focus on the high-tech industry is reflected in the fact that it was established in Belarus just for this purpose, namely, to bring in high-technology industries. Several studies conducted in Belarus show that China has surpassed Belarus by many innovation indicators [18]. This gives reason to hope for an inflow of Chinese technological investments to the industrial park. At the same time, it depends on Belarus' industrial needs rather than on China's technological capabilities. In this regard, the industrial park, with respect to the tax benefits granted for a period of twenty years, and its legal regime extending to a period of fifty years, must be an element of Belarus' industrial strategy for no less than a twenty-year period. Meanwhile, such a strategy, capable of fostering new growth areas, is hardly in evidence, and the emphasis is rather on preserving the existing production facilities.

The Regulations on the China-Belarus industrial park, approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, No. 756, dated 16 August 2012, specify the following priority activities of the industrial park: electronics, fine chemicals, biotechnology, engineering, and advanced materials. Still, according to some sources, the nature of the new world industry in the next ten

years will be determined by such sectors as robotics, genetics, and big data processing, accompanied by the codification of money and markets [19–21]. CEOs of transnational corporations in China, the US, and the EU, forecast the development of such sectors as data processing systems, the Internet of Things, etc. [22].

The new Decree of 2017 does not specify, but rather eases, technological requirements for accession to the 'Great Stone' industrial park. However, this is not a fundamental concern. In any case, in order to ensure its innovativeness, the 'Great Stone' would focus more specifically not on implementation of domestic technologies, but on the transfer of advanced foreign ones. This would call for an appropriate infrastructure for their transfer, development, and commercialization. Moreover, the ultimate goal of the Industrial Park should be the creation of an environment favorable for home-grown innovations and the emergence of competitive domestic technologies.

Alongside the hope that China would focus its high-tech investments on Belarus, there are arguments to the contrary.

Firstly, in recent years, there has been an outflow of productive assets from China to nearby countries (for instance, Vietnam, Bangladesh) that demonstrate a better balance of costs and productivity than China (and Belarus). This is especially the case for the labor force.

Secondly, there is a discussion that Western companies that came to China in the 1990s and 2000s might go back to developed countries [23]. This is due to the development of robotics there, when the price of robots declines over time as their performance improves (in accordance with Moore's law). To remain competitive, China also prioritizes robotics: the annual growth of this sector in China in recent years has been 25% [20]. In view of the foregoing, China's priority may shift in the long run, from offshore manufacturing towards the retention of companies inside the country in order to maintain jobs and social stability. In this regard, China and Belarus are actually competitors for technology, while the 'Great Stone' serves as a means of attracting primarily international, rather than just Chinese, technological investments.

For the 'Great Stone' to create a corresponding high-tech eco-system, it needs a university. Silicon Valley has become successful thanks to Stanford, Boston, Harvard, and MIT. Hong Kong has achieved similar success thanks to the cluster of its universities and London to its business school. The opening of a branch of a world university in the 'Great Stone' will make it possible to solve at least two problems. It is primarily technological, dealing with the creation of a scientific and technical research base for the development of new high technologies and their commercialization in the Park. According to a survey conducted on the basis of the UK's experience, the growth of state investment in research universities leads to an increase in the national economy's labor productivity by 20%, with a three-year lag. When evaluating 135 universities and colleges in 85 US districts, a correlation was established between the growth of research expenses and the level of income in the district, which persists for at least a five-year period. This dependence increases if a university is research-oriented, and if a region is aimed at the implementation of these studies [24].

Another aspect is educational. It aims to attract talent (scientists, teachers, students), and organize the training of highly qualified specialists in the 'Great Stone'. This will generally increase exports of Belarusian educational services by attracting more students from China and the Eurasian region, while training personnel for projects along the 'Belt and Road' and increasing the prestige of Belarusian higher education. However, investments in education without appropriate changes to the sectoral structure of the Park and the country to create a demand for the skills being trained, will only lead to emigration [25].
