Strengthening the functional positioning of the International Science and Technology Innovation Center through strategic coordination layout
2026-03-16
The coordinated promotion of the construction of international science and technology innovation centers in Beijing (Beijing Tianjin Hebei), Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta), and the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is a major practice of strengthening the functional positioning of science and technology innovation centers through strategic coordination layout. Upgrading the construction of international science and technology innovation centers from a point like growth pole layout in core cities to a collaborative innovation layout of geographically connected urban clusters is a key measure to promote the implementation of major national regional strategies in the new development stage, and also a strategic choice for China to accelerate the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and cultivate and develop new quality productive forces. The expansion of the three major international science and technology innovation centers is not only an extension of geographical space, but also a comprehensive upgrade of the science and technology innovation system, regional development pattern, and industrial innovation ecology. Based on the new stage of development, it is necessary to make the three major international science and technology innovation centers become world-class innovation highlands, industrial highlands and talent highlands, take the initiative in the global science and technology competition, and inject new momentum into the comprehensive promotion of the construction of a powerful country and national rejuvenation with Chinese path to modernization, with the creation of original innovation origins as the core, the construction of innovation corridors as the carrier, and the breakthrough of systems and mechanisms as the guarantee. We will focus on creating a source of original innovation and consolidate the foundation of basic research with the advantage of resource aggregation. Primitive innovation is the source of technological innovation and determines the long-term competitiveness of a country or region. Integrating basic research resources through urban agglomerations can help the three major international science and technology innovation centers become the source of global innovation and form a backbone force supporting the long-term development of national science and technology innovation. To anchor the strategic goal of building a technological powerhouse by 2035, we need to adhere to the "two legged" approach. We should not only attach importance to basic research on free exploration, but also give full play to the advantages of the new national system, strengthen goal oriented basic research, and provide theoretical and methodological support for breakthroughs in key core technologies through organized research and development to overcome the "bottleneck" at the bottom. The Beijing Tianjin Hebei region is the area with the highest density of spatial agglomeration of university research institutes and national laboratory resources in China, and relying on Beijing's original innovation advantages, the overall basic research strength of the region ranks first in the country. The innovative layout of Xiong'an New Area enables the optimization and reconfiguration of regional basic research resources. The R&D investment in the Yangtze River Delta accounts for about 30% of the country's total, and the proportion of R&D personnel is close to one-third of the country's total. The industrial supporting facilities are complete, and the efficiency of transforming original innovative achievements is high. The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has a high degree of internationalization and strong market vitality. However, it should also be noted that there are still shortcomings in the original innovation development of the three major regions: there is still a gap in the proportion of basic research funding compared to developed countries, the cross administrative coordination mechanism for basic research is not yet perfect, there are problems of duplicate research and resource dispersion in some fields, the co construction and sharing mechanism of major scientific and technological infrastructure is not perfect, and the connection between goal oriented basic research and industrial demand is not close enough. Strengthening the original innovation source function of the International Science and Technology Innovation Center requires leveraging resource aggregation advantages, focusing on strengthening goal oriented basic research, and forming a collaborative pattern of differentiated collaboration and full chain support. One is to improve the efficiency of utilizing basic research resources within the region. Encourage the establishment of regional joint basic research funds within each innovation center, guide the coordinated investment of central and local financial funds, increase the proportion of basic research funds in the total R&D funds of the society, focus on supporting goal oriented basic research aimed at the forefront of world science and technology and major national industrial needs, and make basic research results more in line with the actual needs of industrial innovation. At the same time, promote the sharing of scientific research resources such as large scientific facilities and large-scale instruments and equipment within the region. The second is to strengthen the collaborative cooperation among the three major international science and technology innovation centers in the fundamental frontier fields. Guide strategic technological forces such as national laboratories, top universities, research institutes, and leading enterprises in the three major regions to jointly tackle major issues in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum information, and life sciences through the establishment of cross provincial joint funds and the construction of innovation consortia. This will promote the formation of differentiated basic research layouts in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong Hong Kong Macao regions, which have both their own research and development priorities and regional differentiated division of labor. The third is to improve the linkage mechanism between basic research and industrial demand. Accelerate the construction of basic research achievement transformation and docking platforms such as concept validation centers within the three major innovative city clusters, and promote local universities and research institutes to conduct basic research around the core technological needs of regional leading industries. At the same time, encourage enterprises to participate in the establishment and research and development process of basic research projects, explore new models where enterprises set questions in practice, enterprises, universities, and research institutes jointly answer questions, and the government coordinates and supports basic research in this process, so that basic research results can better serve the major strategic needs of the country and consolidate the technological foundation for the development of new quality productivity. Accelerate the cultivation and development of world-class industrial clusters through the construction of innovation corridors. The innovation corridor is an important link connecting technological innovation and industrial upgrading, and a key lever for promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. The expansion of the three major international science and technology innovation centers is more conducive to building an innovation corridor led by the central city and supported by surrounding cities. It can transform the "siphon effect" of the central city into a radiating driving function, promote the deep integration of the innovation chain, industry chain, capital chain, and talent chain, facilitate the transfer and cooperation of industrial gradients between regions, and form a modern industrial system with unique characteristics and complementary advantages. This can not only effectively solve the problem of insufficient industrial carrying capacity in core cities, but also promote the coordinated upgrading of industrial and supply chains across administrative regions, cultivate and form world-class advanced manufacturing clusters, and make the three major regions the core battlefield for developing new quality productivity. Geoeconomics provides natural convenience for the development of the three major regional industrial clusters, and in recent years, the integration of technology and industry in the three regions has continued to strengthen. The Beijing Tianjin Hebei region has jointly drawn up a map of six key industrial chains, including hydrogen energy and biomedicine, and worked together to create five advantageous industrial clusters, including integrated circuits. The transaction volume of technology contracts flowing from Beijing to Tianjin Hebei is close to 100 billion yuan, and Zhongguancun enterprises have more than 10000 branches in Tianjin Hebei. The Yangtze River Delta region, with the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor as the core carrier, has jointly built science and technology parks and achievement transformation funds, continuously deepened the "one-stop service" of 9 cities, and formed trillion level industrial clusters in fields such as biomedicine, new energy vehicles, and integrated circuits. The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, with Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao as its poles, promotes the free flow of innovation factors within the Greater Bay Area, and the scale of industrial clusters such as digital economy and advanced manufacturing continues to expand. In the 2025 Global Top 100 Innovation Clusters ranking, Shenzhen Hong Kong Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai Suzhou ranked 1st, 4th, and 6th respectively, demonstrating the global competitiveness of the three major regional industrial clusters. However, at the same time, the phenomenon of homogeneous competition among the three major regional industrial clusters still exists, with some areas facing problems of overcapacity at the low-end and insufficient supply at the high-end. There are still obstacles to the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and the degree of transformation of scientific and technological achievements within the region still needs to be improved. The inter provincial innovation elements and the linkage effect of industrial development have not been fully utilized. Innovation corridors and innovation belts are important spatial links for regional collaborative innovation, and globally renowned innovation zones often exhibit the characteristics of "corridor belt" distribution. By connecting core cities and industrial nodes within a specific region, comparative advantages can be leveraged to integrate factors such as technology, industry, talent, and capital. Connecting innovation chains and industrial chains through corridors and belts, promoting complementary and deep synergy among Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong Hong Kong Macao, and accelerating the formation of world-class industrial clusters, can be achieved from three aspects. One is to build a multi-level cross administrative collaborative governance system for the government. Through planning guidance, clarifying the functional positioning, key industrial directions, and collaborative paths of innovation corridor construction in the three major regions can promote the coordinated allocation of innovation resources across administrative regions from top to bottom, and solve the problem of differences in subject interests. Around the core needs of various industrial clusters, a number of common technology research and development platforms can be deployed within the innovation corridor to promote collaborative innovation among upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain. Local governments establish regular mechanisms such as regional joint meetings and joint offices to achieve precise implementation of policy docking, project cooperation, and resource sharing. The second is to build a key industry technology innovation belt and enhance the depth of industrial synergy. Layout key industrial technology innovation belts along transportation arteries, such as building intelligent connected vehicles and new energy belts along the Beijing Tianjin Hebei Expressway, integrated circuits and large aircraft belts along the G60 in the Yangtze River Delta, and biopharmaceutical and digital economy belts along the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. Relying on leading enterprises to connect upstream and downstream enterprises, improving supply chain support, creating an industrial ecosystem with research and development in the core area, manufacturing in the surrounding areas, and services in the entire region, forming a world-class industrial cluster with full industry chain competitiveness. The third is to improve the infrastructure and public service network of the corridor. Accelerate the construction of cross administrative transportation arteries and create "one hour innovation circles" within each innovation center area. At the same time, we will promote the integration of basic public services such as education, healthcare, and social security, eliminating concerns for talent mobility across regions. For example, promoting the "one card" service in the Yangtze River Delta and exploring convenient measures for employment and entrepreneurship of Hong Kong and Macao residents in mainland China in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Breakthrough the system and mechanism of technological collaborative innovation, and provide institutional guarantees for the development of new quality productivity. Innovation in institutional mechanisms is the driving force behind the expansion and upgrading of the three major international science and technology innovation centers, directly determining the depth and effectiveness of regional collaborative innovation. Breaking through the institutional barriers of technological collaborative innovation can break down the institutional barriers of existing administrative regions, build a governance system that adapts to collaborative innovation in urban agglomerations, and promote the transformation of collaborative innovation from simple physical superposition to deep chemical coupling. The exploration and breakthroughs of the three major centers in terms of institutional mechanisms can not only provide sustained impetus for their own high-quality development, but also form replicable and promotable experience models, provide guidance and demonstration for accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces nationwide, and promote the development of China's regional innovation system towards higher energy levels and wider fields. The three major international science and technology innovation centers of Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, with the core of breaking down administrative barriers and promoting factor flow, have formed a differentiated collaborative innovation policy breakthrough path, laying the foundation for further breaking through innovation barriers. The Beijing Tianjin Hebei region has established the Natural Science Foundation Cooperation Special Project and the Science and Technology Innovation Collaborative Special Project, jointly carrying out key core technology research and development, and establishing a mechanism for cross provincial joint research and funding of science and technology projects. The Yangtze River Delta has launched policies such as joint research and development, inter provincial redemption of innovation vouchers, and relying on major technology infrastructure clusters to promote the free flow and optimized allocation of innovation factors. Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have carried out pilot projects in cross-border use of scientific research funds, mutual recognition of talent qualifications, and cross-border transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and have improved the mechanism for cross-border achievement transformation by deepening the construction of joint laboratories. However, overall, there are still shortcomings in the institutional mechanisms for collaborative innovation in the three major regions: the performance evaluation system of local governments has not fully reflected the collaborative innovation orientation; The market-oriented allocation mechanism for innovative elements such as talent, technology, and capital is not sound enough, and the connection between innovation policies between regions is not tight enough; There are still many restrictions on the cross regional and cross subject use of scientific research funds, the profit distribution mechanism for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements has not been sorted out, and an innovative ecosystem that is compatible with the development of urban agglomerations has not yet been formed. To overcome the institutional barriers to technological collaborative innovation, we need to adhere to problem oriented and goal oriented approaches, and focus on promoting three major institutional innovations. One is to ensure the long-term operation of the collaborative mechanism through the rigid guarantee of the rule of law. Continuously improve the joint legislative mechanism of the three major regions, and transform practical achievements such as universal redemption of science and technology innovation vouchers and payment after use into a system
Edit:Luoyu Responsible editor:Wang Xiaojing
Source:studytimes.cn
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