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SCIO briefing on making China a country of innovators and supporting the fostering of a new development paradigm

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China Review News:

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), China vigorously promoted the building of international science and technology innovation centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This year marks the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and what are China's considerations in planning regional innovation highlands and promoting the building of science and technology innovation centers? Thank you.

Wang Zhigang:

Mr. Xu will answer this question.

Xu Jing:

Thank you for your question. As we all know, this year is the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. The fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee clearly stated that we should make plans to build regional innovation highlands and support the development of Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into international science and technology innovation centers. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), we will strive to create the main driver for science and technology innovation, foster regional innovation growth sources with distinctive features, and form a regional innovation pattern featuring clear main functions, complementary advantages, and high-quality development. We have three aspects to consider regarding this structure.

First, we should continue to support the development of Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into international science and technology innovation centers. We must also strengthen efforts to plan major national innovation bases and platforms and work hard to deepen reform of science and technology systems and policy innovation. In this regard, we hope that these three areas can play a leading role in policy innovation, research exploration, and promote the positive interplay and organic integration of science and technology and industry and finance. Through these, we hope companies take the lead in creating sources for science and technology innovation in China and form important driving forces for high-quality development.

Second, we need to support regions where conditions permit the establishment of regional innovation centers and build sources for regional innovation. The key is to strengthen the growth of national high-tech industrial development zones and independent innovation demonstration zones. In fact, national high-tech development zones have played an increasingly important role in high-quality development across the country in recent years. In 2020, facing the unfavorable environment produced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 169 high-tech industrial development zones nationwide registered an operating income of 41.8 trillion yuan, up 8.4% from 2019. Therefore, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we will focus on promoting the high-quality growth of national independent innovation demonstration zones and high-tech development zones, optimize services for innovation, gather high-end resources, cultivate competitive industrial clusters and innovative enterprises, and build high-tech parks and innovative characteristic parks with international influence. At the same time, we will enhance support for the advancement of agricultural science and technology parks and agricultural high-tech development zones. We will take actions to upgrade science and technology innovation at the county level and promote the transfer, commercialization, and application of scientific and technological achievements.

Third, we must improve mechanisms for coordinated regional innovation advancement. In accordance with the national strategy for regional development, we will begin to promote the large-scale development of the western region, the full and all-around revitalization of the northeast, the rise of the central region, and the opening up of Hainan with the support of science and technology. We will increase support for scientific and technological work in old revolutionary base areas, border areas, and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. We will speed up promoting high-tech development zones in the central and western regions to upgrade their innovation capacity and levels. We will support growing demonstration zones for science and technology cooperation between the eastern and western regions and actively explore and improve market cooperation models, such as offshore research and development centers, offshore science and technology business incubators, and "enclave economy parks." Simultaneously, we will continue to deepen the Xinjiang "four-party cooperation mechanism," which was vigorously promoted during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Under this mechanism, the four parties of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the MOST, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shenzhen will cooperate and promote the development of the western region. We will also deepen cooperation between Gansu province and Zhangjiang High-tech Park in Shanghai, Ningxia and the six eastern provinces and cities (Beijing, Tianjin, and the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian), Guiyang city in Guizhou province and Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing, to strengthen the innovation-driven development of the western region and create a new driving force in innovation-driven growth. Thank you.