'Beacon of innovation' aims to grow sci-tech

Jiangsu province lays out industrial ambitions despite its already leading GDP growth nationwide

East China's Jiangsu province has been beefing up efforts to build itself into a science and technology powerhouse over the past few years, as high-performing sci-tech can provide support for modernization, local officials said.

In September, the province revealed a five-year plan aimed at high-level development of its science and technology, said Wang Qin, head of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology.

According to the plan, by 2025, Jiangsu's investment in research and development is expected to account for 3.2 percent of its GDP. The output value of large high-tech enterprises will account for about 50 percent of the province's total industrial output value.

The government plans to attract another 25 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering and another 28,000 expats to work in the province.

Another target is to build an innovative scientific and technological platform. It is to be composed of the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute; three laboratories which can compete with their counterparts at home and abroad; and more than 10 provincial innovation centers focused on areas such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, environment, new energy, new materials and ocean engineering.

"Jiangsu is a province that is strong in its science, education, industry and economic growth. It is Jiangsu's responsibility to contribute to the innovation-driven development," said Yang Guishan, president of the Nanjing branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Jiangsu, in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, is the only province of China where all prefecture-level cities are among the top 100 urban economies in the nation. It is also part of the Yangtze River Delta, one of six world-class urban clusters, according to the government.

Since 2009, Jiangsu province's per capita GDP has ranked first in China, and it is one of the most economically active provinces in China. Between 2013-20, the province's GDP grew by an average of 7.3 percent every year.

Statistics from the Jiangsu Information Office showed that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, its GDP increased 3.7 percent in 2020.

"Jiangsu is now one of China's beacons of innovation," a local official said. It has 190 key national and provincial laboratories, and 276 science and technology service platforms as well as 3,978 engineering technology research centers.

Among them, the Purple Mountain Laboratories, Gusu Laboratory and Taihu Laboratory have stolen the limelight as they have significant projects going on, according to the government.

In 2020, more than 8,000 new high-tech enterprises were created. The total number in the province exceeded 32,000, ranking second nationwide.

There are now 40,294 small and medium-sized scientific and technological enterprises in Jiangsu, making it the only province in China with more than 40,000 such enterprises.

Jiangsu was also home to 167 universities and colleges, 890,000 researchers and 105 academicians by the end of 2020.

Each year, the province offers support to more than 1,100 outstanding young scientists and researchers, as well as more than 100 key technology research projects in areas such as 6G, AI and quantum technology.

According to Wang, the province has set up an intergovernmental cooperative mechanism for industrial R&D with nine countries and regions. They include Israel, the United Kingdom, Finland, Norway and Singapore. To date, more than 170 projects have been launched via the mechanism.

Jiangsu has also built the China-Israel Changzhou Innovation Park, the first of its kind between the two countries, Wang added.

yinruowei@chinadaily.com.cn