Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    DETAILED plans have been mapped out to build Shenzhen into an international hub of technological and industrial innovation by 2020, said Xu Qin, the city’s Party chief and mayor, at a media conference after the annual session of the city’s lawmaking body ended yesterday.

    The city’s achievements in technology and innovation have drawn worldwide attention over the past years as more influential world media turn their eyes and report on Shenzhen, but the city is going to take a few more steps to become an international innovation hub, according to Xu.

    “Shenzhen is facing new challenges as the world is undergoing a new round of resource allocation in terms of technology, manufacturing and renovation, so we must seize the opportunity and aim to become an international hub of technological and industrial innovation,” Xu told journalists.

    It was not the first time that the government has uttered the notion of the city becoming an international center. Last year, the Central Government noted that Shenzhen’s future was developing in the direction of an international technological and industrial innovation center in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) document.

    2017 is the second year of the five-year plan, and Shenzhen decided to draft and release 10 actions to take over the next few years during the city’s “Two Sessions” this year.

    According to Xu, the city will build more technology-based institutions and laboratories, and give more favorable policies to the key industries of technology and innovation to lure more overseas and domestic talents in these fields to settle in the city.

    The plans will include construction of a number of technological infrastructure projects, such as national laboratories of information technology and life science, and the second phase of the National Gene Bank.

    Xu said that construction of basic research institutions is of great importance to Shenzhen as the city does not have many privileged research institutions compared to Beijing and Shanghai.

    The city will make more efforts in planning and building 10 basic research institutions in such fields as mathematics, medicine, new materials, clean energy among others. This year, four of the planned institutions will be initiated, according to him.

    Ten laboratories led by Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, medicine and photoelectricity will be set up, and two of them are expected to be built this year.

    One of the most ambitious plans is to set up 10 overseas innovation centers in countries and areas with dense resources for innovation, including the United States, Europe and Canada. This year, four innovation centers are planned to be set up overseas.

    Some other measures include better policies to attract top technology teams and researchers from home and abroad to call Shenzhen home in order to help the city continue to innovate.

    “Under the new demand of global markets, we must re-adjust our development direction and aim high in order to help China become influential in the world in terms of technology, manufacturing and innovation,” said Xu.