An innovative model for counties and districts in the Yangtze River Delta, "Institute Economy" in Wuxi, China
Beside the Taihu Lake Lake, Wuxi Binhu District covers an area of 572 square kilometers, including 360 square kilometers of water area and 107.3 kilometers of lake shoreline. Not only does it have lush vegetation, warm mountains and soft water, but it also has a rare advantage in scientific and technological innovation: it gathers about 90% of the research institutes in Wuxi, ranking among the top in the country. It includes 12 provincial and ministerial research institutes, including the China Shipbuilding Science Research Center, the Aviation Industry Radar Institute, the China Aerospace Power Control Institute, the 58th Institute of China Electronics Science and Technology, and the Wuxi Jiangnan Computing Technology Research Institute. It also has 4 new research and development institutions, including the National Supercomputing Wuxi Center, the Wuxi Applied Technology Research Institute of Tsinghua University, the Wuxi Advanced Technology Research Institute, and the Wuxi Photonic Chip Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It has 5 national key laboratories and 8 provincial-level or above science and technology public service platforms.
Such a high concentration of scientific and technological innovation is truly enviable.
First, let's take a look at China Shipbuilding 702 Institute. Located in Shanshui City, Binhu District, China Shipbuilding 702 Institute was founded in Shanghai in 1951 and is the leading research and development unit for third-generation manned submersibles in China. It is also a comprehensive performance research and innovative design center for the shipbuilding industry. In the 1960s, 702 Institute relocated its headquarters to Wuxi.
In June 2012, China Shipbuilding 702 Institute took the lead in completing the development and sea trials of the Jiaolong 7000 meter manned submersible. The Jiaolong is China's first deep-sea manned submersible, with a maximum diving depth of 7062 meters, setting a record for the diving depth of similar submarines in the world that year. In October 2017, the manned deep-sea diving test team of the Deep Sea Warrior completed all sea trials in the South China Sea and successfully returned to Sanya Port. The localization rate of "Deep Sea Warrior" has reached 95%, and its success marks the initial formation of China's deep-sea equipment industry chain, greatly enhancing the independent manufacturing capacity of deep-sea equipment. In 2020, the "Struggler" successfully completed its 10000 meter sea trial.
In December 2020, the the Taihu Lake Laboratory of Deep Sea Technology and Science jointly built by China Shipbuilding Group, Jiangsu Province and Wuxi City was inaugurated in the 702 Institute. This is the first provincial laboratory in Wuxi. At the beginning of its establishment, it aimed at three core research and development directions of deep-sea transportation safety, deep-sea communication and navigation, and deep-sea exploration operations, and focused on solving technical problems in the deep-sea field. At present, the Taihu Lake Lake Laboratory has signed contracts with Southeast University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Harbin Engineering University and other well-known universities in the field of marine engineering technology research.
"Many institutes in Binhu District came from around the 1970s and 1980s. Starting from north to south along Shanshui East Road, you will find that on this avenue, there are large institutes such as the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, the 702 Institute of Chinese Shipbuilding Industry, and the Aviation Industry Radar Institute. I think they chose Shanshui East Road in Wuxi because it had a good economic foundation and a livable living environment. At that time, this area was relatively remote in Wuxi and concentrated with a lot of mountain and water resources." Jiang Weiwei, Deputy District Mayor of Binhu District, said, "In addition, after the successive landing of large institutes and institutes in this area, it will also produce a certain siphon effect, attracting more institutes and institutes." Come to the lakeside. "
As these institutions cluster along the lakeside, a number of major projects related to these institutions have also been implemented one after another.
At present, in Binhu District, the first phase of the intelligent connected vehicle information terminal and large-scale product experimental testing base project of Jiangsu Electronic Quality Inspection Institute, and the second phase of the ice pool construction project of the Wuxi R&D base of China Shipbuilding 702 Institute's deep-sea equipment have laid the foundation and started construction. The civil aviation electronic system project of the Aviation Industry Radar Institute has completed the strategic cooperation contract between the institute and the local area.
The fate between Tsinghua University and Binhu is also very deep. Since the signing of a comprehensive cooperation agreement between Wuxi and Tsinghua University in 1995, a large number of Tsinghua alumni have gone south to Wuxi for development, from joining universities such as Jiangnan University and China Shipbuilding 702 Institute, to building innovation platforms such as the National Supercomputing Wuxi Center. In 2012, Tsinghua University Wuxi Applied Technology Research Institute was established in Binhu District. As of now, this research institute has built 37 research centers, including micro nano electronics and system chips, integrated circuit innovation service platforms, and energy IoT.
In 2021, the Wuxi Photonic Chip Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University landed in the Binhu District. The project leader of Wuxi Photonic Chip Research Institute at Shanghai Jiao Tong University stated that he is interested in the gathering of a large number of research institutes and high-tech industries in Binhu, which has a good talent base.
In Binhu, the innovation momentum based on scientific research institutions is constantly being transformed into new advantages for industrial upgrading, and a strong institute economy is becoming a strong growth pole driving regional development.
"To develop the economy of the institute, Binhu will not give up. It is necessary to transform key variables of scientific and technological innovation into the maximum increment of high-quality development, and strive for the economic contribution of the institute to double in three years." Sun Haidong, Secretary of the Binhu District Party Committee, stated that he will fully support the institute to become bigger and stronger, actively "matchmaking" between the institute and enterprises, and accelerate the on-site transformation of scientific research achievements.
In order to truly transform the "rich mine" around into the dividend of regional development, Binhu District has also set up special work promotion teams for the major projects of economic achievements transformation of four institutes, including the the Taihu Lake Laboratory of Deep Sea Technology and Science, 607 Institute, 703 Wuxi Branch, and Jiangnan Computing Institute, to continuously follow up and solve the development problems of the institutes.
In response to the problem of insufficient cooperation between resident universities and enterprises within the district, Binhu District has innovatively launched the "Huwan Institute Alliance" to gather talent, attracting more than 120 industry-leading scientific and technological talents from research institutes. Through the Science and Technology Vice President Project, a group of experts and professors with research and development and resource integration capabilities from universities have been selected to serve as the "Science and Technology Vice President" in private enterprises, guiding enterprises to solve technical problems. After carefully screening the needs of enterprises and the research direction of teachers in the early stage, the first batch of 8 "Huwan Institute Alliance" technology vice presidents have been selected at Wuxi Vocational and Technical College. Wuxi Aierhua Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd., Jiuzhongjiu Robot Co., Ltd., Wuxi Huaman Intelligent Manufacturing Automation Technology Co., Ltd., Wuxi Wushuang Water Pump Co., Ltd., Wuxi Emwei Industrial Control Equipment Co., Ltd. and other eight private enterprises have respectively issued appointment letters to the paired 8 professors. The two sides will focus on major needs and jointly tackle more key core technologies in future cooperation.
In early July of this year, Binhu District formulated and issued the "Implementation Opinions on High Quality Development of Institute Economy in Binhu District", proposing the goal of over 800 million yuan in tax revenue from institute economy by 2025 and an average annual growth rate of 25% for local contributions.