Greater Bay Area rides wave of sci-tech collaboration

The first phase of the Chinese Medicine Guangdong Laboratory was inaugurated at the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Guangdong province, on Nov 9.

The lab has four strategic tasks, namely the interpretation of traditional Chinese medicine principles; the prevention and treatment of major diseases; the development of new TCM treatments; and enhancing international scientific and technological competitiveness.

It focuses on five major research fronts: the development of the human immune defense system, interpretation of human body phenotypes and syndrome principles, research and technological development in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of major chronic diseases, development of modern diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, and new types of drugs.

Its goal is to become a domestically and internationally influential large-scale, high-end scientific research platform, promoting interdisciplinary integration and innovation in TCM, and establishing a national center for sci-tech innovation and industrial development in the field.

The Hengqin laboratory, as a high-end TCM technological support platform jointly built by Guangdong and the Macao Special Administrative Region, will significantly enhance the foundation of TCM inheritance and innovation and its research application capabilities, said Yu Yanhong, head of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. "It will become a model for in-depth cooperation in scientific and technological innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area."

Another example of the cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong is the inauguration of the Hong Kong hub in China's national computing power network, co-founded by Shenzhen-based Pengcheng Laboratory and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in December 2023 in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. That means Hong Kong scientists can also leverage the computing power on the Chinese mainland for research.

The first phase of the Chinese Medicine Guangdong Laboratory is put into operation on Nov 9. CHINA DAILY

"The cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong is a reciprocal arrangement and mutually beneficial," said Gao Wen, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of Pengcheng Laboratory.

"The laboratory needs to capitalize on Hong Kong's international advantages to strengthen global cooperation. At the same time, as a national strategic research force based in the Greater Bay Area, the laboratory has a commitment to develop together with Hong Kong," Gao said.

After the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory collaborative innovation mechanism was initiated in 2019, the list of the third batch of 11 such joint laboratories was announced in early January of this year, bringing the total number of joint laboratories to 31.

Through the collaborative efforts of teams from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the joint laboratories have made sound progress in research and the application of research results, talent team introduction, and exchanges in sci-tech-cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao.

In recent years, Guangdong has continuously deepened its scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao, promoting trilateral collaboration mechanisms, platforms, projects, talent and other aspects to accelerate the transformation of the Greater Bay Area into an internationally influential hub for sci-tech innovation.

Leveraging major platforms such as Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha and Hetao, the three regions of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have made practical progress and achieved results in "people exchanges, capital flow, tax balance and logistics connectivity" in recent years, Gong Guoping, a senior official of the Guangdong Department of Science and Technology, said at a news conference for the Greater Bay Area Science Forum 2024 in early November. Building on this practical experience, the three regions are accelerating the alignment of rules and mechanisms in the field of scitech innovation, advancing a series of reform measures, Gong said.

How to make the cross-boundary flow of scientific research materials free is one of the challenges and a major concern for researchers. Currently, the pilot reforms for the efficient cross-boundary flow of scientific research materials in Guangzhou and Shenzhen have been smoothly progressing, with more "green channels" being gradually established.

In July 2023, the Guangzhou science and technology bureau, together with Guangzhou Customs and other departments, jointly issued the city's first positive list for cross-boundary scientific research materials. Based on the list, a series of measures for customs facilitation were introduced, with Guangzhou Laboratory and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) designated as pilot units, allowing materials included in the list for the pilot units to access the green channel.

In January, Guangzhou Laboratory completed the construction of a cross-boundary rapid testing center for biological samples at Shenzhen Park in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone. The center, which is the first of its kind in the Greater Bay Area, is focused on collaborative research in therapeutic drugs, rapid testing and public support services.

The "white list" system for research institutions in the Hetao innovation cooperation zone provides more convenient and efficient customs clearance services for researchers and their accompanying items, who commute to the park for work on a daily basis.

Guangdong has made substantial progress in cooperation in research management rules and mechanisms with Hong Kong and Macao.

Hong Kong and Macao institutions undertaking research projects funded by the Guangdong provincial government can follow the auditing standards prevailing in Hong Kong and Macao for acceptance and completion.

Guangdong's key research and development programs and the projects initiated by the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, among others, are open to Hong Kong and Macao, supporting research institutions from the two special administrative regions in leading or taking part in Guangdong provincial government-funded research projects. As of early November, Guangdong has disbursed more than 460 million yuan ($63.51 million) in research funds to Hong Kong and Macao.

A vast pool of talent is taking shape in the Bay Area, with mechanisms for talent mobility and collaborative innovation rapidly being perfected. In recent years, Guangdong has introduced a series of talent innovation policies and measures in areas including Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha and Hetao, making the Bay Area a magnet for high-level talent to settle for innovation and entrepreneurship.