Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation:

I noticed that the industrial and technological innovation was made one of the top priorities at Jiangsu province's "new year's first meeting" this year. What efforts will Jiangsu continue to make in this regard? Thank you. 

Hu Guangjie:

We will focus on industrial sci-tech innovation and strive to achieve the target of making Jiangsu a center "that holds global influence" in a bid to ensure sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation. By doing so, we are aiming to ensure the role of Jiangsu in driving scientific and technological innovation, in leading the development of industries and in resource factors allocation, so as to serve the country's high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology. We will step up efforts in the following aspects:

First, we will transform educational and scientific resources in a more efficient manner. Jiangsu possesses rich educational and scientific resources, and it leads the country in the number of universities, national innovative cities and national high-tech zones. We are deepening strategic cooperation with national-level scientific research institutes, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, to attract more innovative enterprises to come to Jiangsu, to grow in Jiangsu and to gain market achievements in Jiangsu. For instance, over the past 18 years, the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO) of Chinese Academy of Sciences has been taking the lead in the groundbreaking and high-quality development of the nanotechnology industry. Currently, Jiangsu's nanotechnology industry accounts for approximately 30% of the national market, and the application of nanomaterials in biomedicine and other functional material fields is leading in the country. We will ramp up efforts to serve the building of national strategic scientific and technological forces, and to establish national-level technology transfer centers in universities and a batch of proof-of-concept centers. By doing so, more scientific and technological achievements will get the opportunity to be commercialized.

Secondly, we will step up efforts to promote development of high-quality enterprises. Innovation is one of the characteristics of Jiangsu enterprises and the number of small and medium sci-tech enterprises and that of listed companies on the Science and Technology Innovation Board all rank among the top in the country. We have fostered 1,474 national-level specialized and sophisticated "little giant" firms and 241 single-product champions in manufacturing sector, with their leading products being able to shore up weak links or fill in the gaps of key areas in the industrial chains. For example, a robotics company in Nanjing has maintained its R&D investment of over 10% for years and has strengthened research in core technologies in key fields, such as the servo system and the controller. As a result, it has become China's top manufacturer of industrial robots for four consecutive years. We will continue to advance the cultivation of enterprise and support initiatives to strengthen industrial chains as well as actions to foster specialized and sophisticated businesses. We are striving to establish an "innovation matrix" which is composed of 200 leading manufacturing enterprises, 15,000 specialized and sophisticated businesses and 50,000 innovative SMEs by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

Thirdly, we will pool innovative talent more effectively. With approximately 1.17 million R&D professionals in Jiangsu, including 65% of the country's academicians and 40% of its top-tier talent, Jiangsu will direct its efforts towards cultivating a robust pool of basic research talent, establishing a provincial basic science center and promoting the "Basic Research Special Zone" program to implant the seeds for industrial innovation. At the same time, greater efforts will be made to advance the National Graduate College for Engineers program with high standards, appoint experts and professors to enterprises as "vice president responsible for technology development" and "industry professors," deepen integration between the industry and the education sector, foster more master craftsmen and highly-skilled talent and create a favorable environment for talent development. The goal is to encourage more "hidden talent" to emerge and showcase their abilities to the fullest in Jiangsu. Thank you.