People's Daily: Creating a benchmark for innovation leading modernization construction (from a technological perspective)
The Central Economic Work Conference proposed to build international science and technology innovation centers in Beijing (Beijing Tianjin Hebei), Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta), and the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has decided to expand the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region and the Shanghai International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Yangtze River Delta region, with the aim of accelerating the formation of the main source of China's original innovation, jointly building a strategic guide for the construction of a strong science and technology country, and establishing a benchmark for leading Chinese style modernization with scientific and technological support. General Secretary Xi Jinping elaborated on the far-reaching considerations involved.
Building an international science and technology innovation center is a strategic consideration of the Party Central Committee based on the overall situation and long-term perspective. In recent years, the construction of the three major centers has achieved remarkable results and played an important role in supporting the improvement of China's innovation capabilities. What new opportunities will expanding the construction scope of international science and technology innovation centers bring in the future? Our reporter conducted an interview.
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Constructing the Beijing (Beijing Tianjin Hebei) International Science and Technology Innovation Center——
Forge 'peaks' and cultivate' plateaus'
Our reporter Wang Haonan
Beijing headquarters focuses on research and development, with over 300 people tackling key core technologies; Efficient production in Tianjin base ensures timely supply of key components; Complete machine assembly in Langfang, Hebei, with three expansions in ten years. Building an international science and technology innovation center is a new opportunity for us, "said Wu Aijun, Executive President of Beijing Jingdiao Technology Group, as one machine tool is manufactured in three places and boarded the fast train of coordinated development in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region
Expanding the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region, from one city to three cities, the innovation boom is surging across the land of Jingji.
Expanding the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region is conducive to accelerating the formation of the main source of China's original innovation and jointly building a strategic support for the construction of a strong science and technology country. Zhang Jihong, Director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and Zhongguancun Management Committee, said that Beijing will play a leading role in "carrying the big beam".
In recent years, Beijing has accelerated the construction of an international science and technology innovation center, significantly improving its innovation, competitiveness, and radiation capabilities. It has been ranked first among global research cities for 9 consecutive years, third in the number of unicorn companies for 4 consecutive years, and has maintained a research and development investment intensity of around 6%.
The construction of an international science and technology innovation center should not only create 'peaks', but also cultivate' plateaus'. Ye Tanglin, Executive Dean of the Institute of Economic and Social Development of Mega Cities at Capital University of Economics and Business, believes that this' expansion 'will move from a' single point breakthrough 'focusing on core cities to a' coordinated operation 'of urban agglomerations, which will help promote institutional and mechanism reform, break through regional innovation bottlenecks, and achieve functional complementarity and kinetic energy aggregation.
In the future, we will plan together in the areas of open sharing of major scientific and technological infrastructure, collaborative technological innovation, gathering high-level talents, and jointly building world leading science and technology parks. We will continue to promote the construction of cooperative parks in Xiong'an, Binhai, Baoding and other places, and promote the continuous deepening and implementation of collaborative innovation among the three regions, "said Zhang Jihong.
Against the backdrop of coordinated development in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region, collaborative innovation has moved from blueprint to reality. Entering Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park in Xiong'an New Area, the innovative atmosphere is overwhelming. Listed for over two years, this place has gathered more than 260 technology-based enterprises.
Beijing proposed the plan, Tianjin made the components, and we developed the technology, and we overcame the difficulties within a week, "said Li Jin, the general manager of Xiong'an Kunbin Technology Co., Ltd., which is deeply involved in the field of electromagnetic environmental effects. Last year, with the help of the Beijing Tianjin Hebei collaborative innovation platform, the company overcame the challenge of aerospace grade high-precision components. When it comes to "expanding the circle," he said, "it will further promote the orderly flow of innovative factors and achieve efficient coupling of resources
In Tianjin, the world's smallest microfluidic detector, covalent organic framework materials (COFs), the world's first ton scale mass production, and the world's first interventional brain computer interface assisted human limb movement function repair test... Driven by radiation in Beijing, a number of major process and technological breakthroughs continue to emerge in the Tiankai Higher Education Science and Technology Innovation Park.
Zhang Xueying, Chairman of Tianjin Tiankai Development Group Co., Ltd., introduced that currently, there are a total of 4423 registered enterprises in the park. Next, we will deeply connect with Beijing Innovation Source and Hebei Industrial Application Scenario Resources, introduce national level innovation platforms in advantageous fields such as synthetic biology, brain computer interfaces, and marine equipment, and break through key core technologies
From the original breakthroughs in the laboratory, to the technological innovations on the production line, and to the widespread application in the market, a complete innovation chain is accelerating its connection in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region. Data shows that the transaction volume of technology contracts exported from Beijing to Tianjin Hebei has risen from over 7 billion yuan in 2013 to over 84 billion yuan in 2024.
At present, the coordinated development of Beijing Tianjin Hebei has entered a stage of comprehensive and high-quality in-depth promotion, laying a solid foundation for "expanding the encirclement". In the first three quarters of this year, the gross domestic product of the three regions increased by 5.4% year-on-year. At present, there are 174 national key laboratories in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region, accounting for 33.9% of the total number in the country; 42 "Double First Class" universities, accounting for 28.6% of the national total.
The innovation capillary is more unobstructed, and the physical spatial connection has taken initial shape, "analyzed Li Wei, Secretary General of the Beijing Collaborative Development Service Promotion Association." In the future, deeper institutional reforms and soft environment construction will become the focus. For example, establishing a cross regional technology plan joint project approval mechanism, promoting mutual recognition of talent evaluation standards, and building a reasonable benefit sharing mechanism will directly determine whether the multiplier effect of regional innovation can be truly released
We will build a closer collaborative innovation community, "said Zhou Hao, Deputy Director of the Beijing Tianjin Hebei Collaborative Development Joint Working Office." We will leverage the functions of national laboratories, research institutes, universities, and other institutions in Beijing, continuously improve the output and transformation capabilities of major original achievements, and build an integrated collaborative innovation ecosystem
Building Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center——
One city leads, regional collaboration
Our reporter Huang Xiaohui
In Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province, adjacent to Jinshan District in Shanghai, workers are busy producing optical film products for liquid crystal displays in the standardized factory of Kaixinsen New Materials Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai Dehui Group. This manufacturing enterprise headquartered in Jinshan District has found a technical partner, Professor Wang Changlei's team from the School of Optoelectronics Science and Engineering at Soochow University, through the Pudong New Area unveiling platform to prepare for technological upgrades.
The solutions provided by universities will help us overcome the challenges of optical module architecture, improve product performance, and enhance market competitiveness, "said Zhang Jianguo, General Manager of Kaixinsen Company." Our production bases are in Jinshan and Pinghu, and our research and development centers are in Shanghai and Suzhou. We are a 'Yangtze River Delta company'
This layout has now become the norm for scientific and technological innovation in the Yangtze River Delta. The unveiling and leading platform, established by the Science and Technology and Economic Commission of Pudong New Area and operated by the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center, has been in operation for nearly three years, successfully unveiling 53 enterprise projects with a contract amount exceeding 128 million yuan.
In recent years, the construction of the Yangtze River Delta Science and Technology Innovation Community has been accelerated. The two comprehensive national science centers of Zhangjiang in Shanghai and Hefei in Anhui have "two hearts and one innovation". The Yangtze River Delta Science and Technology Resource Sharing Service Platform has gathered 28 major facilities and more than 50000 sets of large instruments. The G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor has been linked together... On September 1, 2025, the first regional legislation in China with the theme of coordinated development of science and technology innovation was officially implemented, providing a solid guarantee for efficient allocation of science and technology resources.
Data shows that since 2022, the joint research and development plan of the three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta has supported more than 80 projects, with a total investment of over 1.7 billion yuan. The regional R&D investment intensity has reached 3.33%, and the flow of innovative elements within the region has become smoother. The original breakthrough is in Shanghai, the application research and development is in Suzhou, Hefei, Hangzhou and other places, and the industry is landing in the entire Yangtze River Delta region. This is a typical innovation collaboration model in the Yangtze River Delta region, "said Liu Qing, director of the National Technology Innovation Center in the Yangtze River Delta.
Expanding the Shanghai International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Yangtze River Delta, the integration of science and technology innovation in the Yangtze River Delta has entered a new stage of deep integration. Liu Qing stated that "expanding the circle" means upgrading from focusing on the construction of Shanghai's own science and technology innovation center in the past to leveraging Shanghai's international advantages, leading and driving the integrated innovation of the Yangtze River Delta region, and achieving high-quality development. This is an inevitable requirement in line with the trend of integrating technological innovation and industrial innovation, which will help the three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta to elongate their respective "long boards" and achieve complementary advantages.
The global innovation competition has entered a comprehensive competition based on core science and technology innovation clusters, which dominate the global scientific and technological discourse with a complete innovation ecosystem. The Yangtze River Delta should plan scientific and technological innovation from the perspective of participating in international competition and cooperation. Qin Wenbo, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Shanghai Academy of Sciences, believes that the expanded international science and technology innovation center should focus on three aspects: breaking down administrative barriers, deeply integrating Shanghai's global resource allocation capabilities, the industrial depth and scientific research characteristics of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, and promoting the transformation of innovation factors from "localization" to "functionalization"; Focus on leading industries such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence, and jointly carry out key core technology research and development; Create a world-class innovation ecosystem and attract high-end talents and capital from around the world.
After the expansion, the integration of science and technology innovation in the Yangtze River Delta has accelerated, providing us with more solid talent and technological support to better participate in global competition, "said Zhang Jianguo.
With the deepening of the construction of the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center, more and more "Kaixinsen" will grow here. Data shows that the Yangtze River Delta region gathers one-third of the country's high-tech enterprises, one-third of research and development expenditures, and one-third of invention patent authorizations.
The goal of integrating the Yangtze River Delta into the construction of an international science and technology innovation center is not only to create a domestic benchmark, but also to build a global innovation highland. Liu Qing described the future prospects of scientific and technological innovation in the Yangtze River Delta with three "more": "Greater - Shanghai is based in the Yangtze River Delta, opening up a broad open door to the world and efficiently gathering global innovation resources; Higher - led by Shanghai, linking Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, each promoting their own strengths and working together to build a high-level innovation platform; Deeper - anchoring the development goals of new quality productivity, promoting the cross regional deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation
The ultimate goal is to build an open, collaborative, and efficient innovation system in the Yangtze River Delta region, "said Liu Qing.
Constructing the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area International Science and Technology Innovation Center——
Deepen the collaboration among the three regions and unleash the 'superposition effect'
Our reporter Cheng Yuanzhou
The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is highly concentrated in scientific and technological innovation resources - along both sides of the the Pearl River, the two technological innovation corridors of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Macao are like "people". In 2025, "Shenzhen Hong Kong Guangzhou" will rank first among the top 100 global innovation clusters, while "Macau Zhuhai" will be selected as one of the top 100 global innovation clusters. In recent years, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has fully leveraged the complementary advantages of the three regions, accelerated the construction of an open regional collaborative innovation community, continuously deepened the connection of rules and mechanisms, and created a global hub for scientific and technological innovation.
Choosing to come to Hetao, this is the right path! "Chen Furong, Dean of the Institute of Physical Sciences (Futian) at City University of Hong Kong, was deeply impressed by the development of China's first high temporal and spatial resolution electron microscope with independent intellectual property rights.
Through the Shenzhen Customs' "Channel One", optical design and algorithm research and development teams in Hong Kong, as well as precision machining and industrial application teams in Shenzhen, can commute "point-to-point" in half an hour; By adopting the "temporary import and export of scientific research equipment" customs clearance mode, microscopes can be simultaneously released globally in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
At present, the Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone Shenzhen Park has gathered more than 440 technology enterprises and over 15000 scientific researchers; Innovation platforms such as the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area (Guangdong) Quantum Science Center are being laid out, the Shenzhen branch of the Hong Kong Science Park has opened, and 13 key scientific research projects from 5 Hong Kong universities have been implemented and constructed.
In the view of Zhou Yiren, Director of the Institute of Land Development and Regional Economy of the National Development and Reform Commission, a highly open institutional environment, convenient cross-border flow conditions for factors, and deep coupling between high-tech manufacturing and the international market are the unique advantages of building an international science and technology innovation center in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area.
Relying on Hong Kong's internationally leading basic scientific research, finance, rule of law, and global network system, as well as Macao's advantages in connecting Portuguese speaking countries' science and technology innovation system, combined with Shenzhen's strong foundation in enterprise innovation, digital technology, and emerging industries, Guangzhou's comprehensive gateway hub function, and the Pearl River Delta's complete advanced manufacturing system, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has the conditions to explore an international science and technology innovation model that is global, enterprise oriented, and results oriented. Zhou Yiren believes that it is necessary to further strengthen the "soft connectivity" of scientific and technological rules and mechanisms, and release the "superposition effect" of cross-border cooperation.
Focusing on key links, Guangdong is the first in the country to achieve cross-border allocation of provincial financial research funds to Hong Kong and Macau; Guangzhou is promoting the pilot expansion of the positive list of cross-border scientific research materials, benefiting over 200 biopharmaceutical companies; The Shenzhen Data Exchange is the first in the country to launch a pilot program for cross-border data trading; The preferential policies for personal income tax in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and the visa policies for talents traveling to and from Hong Kong and Macao in 9 mainland cities in the Bay Area have been fully implemented... Currently, Guangdong has jointly issued 262 "Bay Area Standards" with Hong Kong and Macao, and 187 high-frequency government service items have achieved "cross-border integration".
The 'Great Nation's Heavy Equipment' witnesses the high level of collaborative scientific and technological innovation in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. Dongguan Spallation Neutron Source and Guangzhou National Supercomputing Center open up services to Hong Kong and Macau; The construction of strong current heavy ion accelerators, cold spring ecosystem research facilities, etc. is accelerating... Currently, there are 10 major scientific and technological infrastructure facilities in Guangdong, forming a world-class cluster of major scientific and technological infrastructure. In addition, Guangdong has also laid out the construction of 26 national key laboratories, 459 provincial key laboratories, and established 35 Guangdong Hong Kong Macao joint laboratories to create a source of original innovation and a highland of industrial and technological innovation.
The constantly emerging technological breakthroughs are driving the industries in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area towards the mid to high end. We have achieved nanoscale etching on diamond grade hardness silicon carbide materials to produce silicon carbide optical waveguide AR (augmented reality) glasses. ”Liu Jieling, General Manager of Industrial Investment at the Guangdong Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area National Nanotechnology Innovation Research Institute, said.
Zheng Hairong, an academician of the CAS Member and director of the National High Performance Medical Device Innovation Center, introduced that the center has developed 5.0T human whole body magnetic resonance imaging system, domestic ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), etc., which has become the innovation engine of China's medical device industry. In the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, 9 trillion level industrial clusters have formed, with over 70000 national high-tech enterprises gathering here.
We will firmly seize the opportunity of building an international science and technology innovation center in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, focus on cutting-edge emerging fields, carry out full chain cooperation from technology research and development to enterprise incubation to industrial cultivation, and strive to create a world-class high-tech industrial agglomeration area. "Gong Guoping, Secretary of the Party Group of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, introduced that relying on high-level scientific research platforms, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao will work together to create a high-level talent highland. At present, Guangdong has gathered over 1.6 million research and development personnel.