Focus Interview: How Emerging Industries Can Be Refined
CCTV News: We will continue to follow the "High Quality Development Research Tour" organized by the Central Propaganda Department and multiple media outlets. In July, media conducted research focusing on Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, and Hubei. The leading industry is the main driving force for regional economic development. With the concept of high-quality development deeply ingrained in people's hearts, many regions are moving towards "new" directions. In the transformation of old and new driving forces, the development of emerging strategic industries is regarded as their main driving force, and new industries are rapidly emerging. What are the "new" leading industries in these four regions and how are they refined? Follow the reporter to decipher the password.
The biopharmaceutical industry is one of the leading industries that Yantai City, Shandong Province has focused on cultivating in recent years. At the "Chain Leader System" office of the biopharmaceutical industry chain in Yantai City, the reporter saw the latest development plan. Taking the lead in building a medical isotope industry chain in China is the main focus of local efforts in the near future.
The pharmaceutical industry in Yantai has a history of decades and has produced multiple leading enterprises. However, in recent years, with changes in the domestic and international market environment, competition has become increasingly fierce. In order to achieve higher quality development, Yantai began implementing the "chain length system" in 2021, with the entire industry chain as the focus of construction. The "chain length" is the person in charge of the entire industry, and is served by the main person in charge of the municipal government. The development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Yantai is no longer about individual districts, cities, or enterprises fighting alone, but rather a comprehensive decision-making and coordinated promotion of the entire city.
Under the "chain leader system", the main person in charge of the municipal government serves as the "chain leader" responsible for comprehensive decision-making, while the other protagonist, the "chain leader", is undertaken by leading enterprises in various fields of the local biopharmaceutical industry. So what is the role of a "chain owner"?
A local leading enterprise with innovative drugs as its main feature has developed a batch of biologically valuable new drugs in recent years for diseases such as autoimmune and tumor diseases. Now, with it as the "chain master", we are leading the creation of a biopharmaceutical park, focusing on biopharmaceuticals, using points to cover areas, continuously supplementing and strengthening the chain.
Wang Weidong, Chairman of a certain biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., said, "From early stages to industrialization, from research and development to industrial production, to commercial distribution, and to the supply and demand of raw and auxiliary materials, all aspects require systematic cooperation. Enterprises cooperate and cooperate with each other to form energy as a whole."
Biopharmaceuticals have extremely high requirements for production equipment, processes, and management. Many small and medium-sized enterprises are unable to build their own production lines. In response to the pain points, this industrial park has established a specialized biopharmaceutical research and development, production outsourcing service company to help enterprises accelerate product technology transformation and shorten the product launch cycle. At the same time, industrial development requires continuous introduction of fresh blood. Based on the needs of many start-up enterprises, "Chain Master" enterprises and the government jointly funded the establishment of this incubation center, providing everyone with "one-stop" entrepreneurial services including technology platforms, entrepreneurial counseling, and other content.
In addition, in response to the supply side challenges brought about by the international situation and other factors in the past two years, in order to avoid bottlenecks, we are actively building supply chain alliances including domestic and foreign suppliers. Now, this biopharmaceutical park has formed a small industrial cluster with upstream, midstream, and downstream factors gathering.
"Chain leader" decision-making, "chain master" leadership, government and market complement each other based on professional expertise. Chain Office is a specialized team responsible for communication between both parties and handling various practical problems. From industrial research and park establishment to talent introduction and children's education in pharmaceutical enterprises, all major and minor matters in this industry chain are directly handled by the Chain Office, resulting in high efficiency in handling problems.
Through the "chain length system", Yantai Biopharmaceuticals has gradually formed a full industry chain system covering research and development, manufacturing, and circulation of biopharmaceuticals, chemical drugs, modern Chinese medicine, medical devices, and other industries. The main business revenue of the entire biopharmaceutical and health industry in the city has exceeded 100 billion yuan for three consecutive years.
To sustain high-quality development of emerging industries, continuous technological innovation is necessary. Journalist research has found that focusing on the pain points of enterprise scientific research and innovation, building research and development and support platforms, is a common approach adopted by Wuhan, Hubei, known as the "China Optics Valley", and Shijiazhuang, the "North China Pharmaceutical Capital".
At the Hubei Optics Valley Laboratory, the reporter saw a research device for extreme ultraviolet coherent light sources. Compared to traditional lasers, extremely ultraviolet coherent light sources can achieve higher resolution imaging and have great application prospects in important fields such as precision detection of integrated circuits, making them a cutting-edge technology in the global laser industry.
Professor Lu Peixiang from Huazhong University of Science and Technology has led a team to study this technology for more than ten years, achieving a critical technological breakthrough. But to truly apply technology to industry, it is necessary to further develop laboratory equipment and make industrial prototypes of lasers to further test their stability. So, Lu Peixiang found the earliest local enterprise engaged in the production and research of ultrafast lasers. However, whether for research teams or enterprises, such research and development face significant difficulties.
Chen Shaoxiang, Director of the Ultra Fast Fiber Optic Laboratory at Wuhan Huari Precision Laser Co., Ltd., said, "As an enterprise, it requires a large amount of funds to transform and absorb this technology, and there were certain risks in the context of that time."
Professor Lu Peixiang from Wuhan Optoelectronics National Research Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Chief Scientist in Laser Technology and Equipment Research at Hubei Optics Valley Laboratory: "As a research team of the university, we mainly engage in cutting-edge technology research, and without guarantee conditions, we can productize it."
It takes tens of millions to make a prototype, and universities lack funding. Meanwhile, due to the lack of large-scale production, the motivation of the enterprise is also insufficient. How to better integrate cutting-edge scientific research and technology in industrial development with the development capabilities of enterprises? In 2021, Hubei Province established 9 Hubei laboratories, including Optics Valley Laboratory, by combining local advantageous disciplines and key industries.
Du Yun, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province, said, "Hubei Laboratory is a comprehensive scientific research platform that spans multiple fields, disciplines, and collaborative innovation. It not only includes schools and research institutes, but also enterprises, including some investment and financing platforms, so that these achievements can be applied as soon as possible."
The government provides partial start-up funds for the laboratory, and university research teams and enterprise research and development teams become one, becoming joint research entities and sharing the results together. The combination of laboratory technology and real industry demand, while continuously improving technology, the enterprise quickly launched two cutting-edge laser products to the market within a year.
In Shijiazhuang, the "North China Pharmaceutical Capital", it is also important to identify the pain points of industrial innovation and make precise efforts.
Liu Chao, founder and CEO of a biotechnology company in Hebei, said, "When we treat rheumatoid arthritis, we need to see the bone condition of the mouse's paws clearly, and we need to use a small animal specific X-ray machine equipment. This equipment is quite expensive."
This pharmaceutical company is developing an innovative drug for autoimmune diseases. In the development of new drugs, professional research instruments are essential, but the prices are generally expensive, and many small and medium-sized enterprises are unable to purchase them. In response to this pain point, in 2011, Shijiazhuang built a large-scale instrument and equipment sharing platform, bringing together 7281 sets of instruments and equipment, including resources from 11 local national level laboratories and multiple research institutes. On this platform, Liu Chao quickly found the device shared by Hebei Medical University. At the same time, the local government has also issued innovation vouchers to enterprises, which can reimburse some expenses and further reduce research and development costs. With policy support, the research and development of new drugs in Shijiazhuang has also developed rapidly.
To "refine" into a new industry, in addition to carefully nurturing existing industries, it is also necessary to cultivate new industries with potential and broad prospects from the source with a longer-term perspective. In this regard, Beijing and other places are actively exploring.
At the laboratory of Beijing Institute of Quantum Information Science, the reporter saw the latest research result - a 136 qubit superconducting quantum computer. Compared to classical computing, quantum computing has an exponential increase in computing power. New technologies nurture new industries, and with computing power becoming the core productivity of the digital economy, the quantum information industry has become a new arena for global competition. To ensure the healthy and long-term development of new industries, it is necessary to lay a solid foundation from the source and do a good job in scientific research. Since 2018, Beijing has been targeting the forefront of world technologies such as quantum information, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. Through institutional innovation, Beijing has proactively laid out new research and development institutions, and the Beijing Institute of Quantum Information Science is one of them. So, where is the "new" of new research and development institutions?
Ni Wenlong, Director of the Management Department of Scientific Research Institutions of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology and the Zhongguancun Management Committee, said, "By fully empowering, we can further empower new research and development institutions with greater autonomy and stimulate greater innovation vitality among researchers."
Research funding is the guarantee for basic research. The funding for new research and development institutions is mainly supported by Beijing's finance, and the use of funds is decentralized layer by layer. Firstly, Beijing has delegated power to research and development institutions, which can independently determine research topics and arrange the use of research funds within the determined key directions and areas. Next, within the organization, delegate power to research teams, who have their own research autonomy, funding autonomy, and full personnel authority.
The goal of Jin Yirong's team is to develop practical quantum computers. In the initial stage, the team is mainly composed of researchers. In recent years, the team has developed three different specifications of superconducting quantum chips. Based on these research and development achievements, the team launched a quantum computing cloud platform for society in April this year. At this stage, engineers responsible for cloud platform detection and maintenance have become one of the key professions. Under flexible mechanisms, the composition of research teams is also adjusted accordingly.
Based on new mechanisms and systems, such as chip level atomic clocks, hundred kilometer level quantum direct communication, and ultra short and ultra strong lasers, the Beijing Institute of Quantum Information Science has developed many heavyweight original achievements in recent years.
Professor Huang Taiyan from Central University for Nationalities said, "New industries do not fall from the sky. In the development of emerging strategic industries, what forms strong support is to fully leverage the effective role of the market in resource allocation, play the role of serving and ensuring the government, and form a joint force between the market and the government to support the development of strategic emerging industries. From research in four regions, it can be seen that there is great potential for our country to develop strategic emerging industries in various regions."
The development of emerging strategic industries requires both technological innovation and institutional innovation support. In the program, we saw that in four places, when developing emerging industries, the government actively took action to address pain points. Through innovation in mechanisms, policies, platforms, and services, the bottlenecks and difficulties encountered in industrial development were solved, providing strong support for scientific research innovation and achievement transformation in universities and enterprises. The scientific research foundation, industrial foundation, and talent foundation vary in different regions, and each has its own unique resource endowments. Choosing a suitable development path and carefully cultivating innovative ideas can help the high-quality development of emerging industries go smoother.
