The following document is an excerpted translation of Shanghai’s five-year plan for S&T development. This is one of many detailed provincial-level economic development plans likely to follow in the wake of China’s national 14th Five-Year Plan, which was released in March 2021. Shanghai’s plan identifies a raft of emerging technologies that the city government aims to boost, and proposes a major expansion and refinement of the city’s tech transfer apparatus. This lengthy translated excerpt covers the following sections of Shanghai’s plan: part I (overview), part III (basic research and innovation), part IV (key and core technologies), part VI (talent), and part X (innovation environment).

The Chinese source text is available online at: https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/ghwb/202109/P020210910639035516208.pdf

An archived version of the Chinese source text is available online at: https://perma.cc/3Q86-8BRJ

U.S. $1 ≈ 6.5 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (RMB), as of October 26, 2021.

I. Development Basis, Situation, Mission, and Long-Term Goals

(i) Major progress in the construction of a science and technology (S&T) innovation center with global influence during the 13th Five-Year Plan period

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan [2016-2020], the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have thoroughly implemented the spirit of the major instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the establishment of an S&T innovation center with global influence in Shanghai, have resolutely followed the path of innovation-driven development, and have adhered to the “Two-Wheel Drive” of technological innovation and structure and mechanism (体制机制) innovation. We have comprehensively improved the concentration of innovation resources, the influence of S&T achievements, the leadership of emerging industries, the attractiveness of the innovation environment, and the driving force of our radiating regional influence (区域辐射带动力). We have accelerated the formation of a basic framework system for the S&T innovation center, laying a solid foundation to allow S&T innovation center establishment during the 14th Five-Year Plan [2021-2025] to reach a new level.

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan [2016-2020], the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have thoroughly implemented the spirit of the major instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the establishment of an S&T innovation center with global influence in Shanghai, have resolutely followed the path of innovation-driven development, and have adhered to the “Two-Wheel Drive” of technological innovation and structure and mechanism (体制机制) innovation. We have comprehensively improved the concentration of innovation resources, the influence of S&T achievements, the leadership of emerging industries, the attractiveness of the innovation environment, and the driving force of our radiating regional influence (区域辐射带动力). We have accelerated the formation of a basic framework system for the S&T innovation center, laying a solid foundation to allow S&T innovation center establishment during the 14th Five-Year Plan [2021-2025] to reach a new level.

– Predetermined goals for the core indicators of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan have fundamentally been achieved. In 2020, Shanghai’s total societal research and development (R&D) expenditures were equivalent to about 4.1% of the city’s gross domestic product (GDP). The number of invention patents per 10,000 people reached 60.2, the number of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international patent applications reached 3,558, exceeding expectations, and there were 417,900 newly established enterprises. Moreover, the transaction value of technology export contracts at home and abroad was 126.87 billion yuan Renminbi (RMB), helping to nurture a new momentum.

– The concentration and visibility of Zhangjiang Comprehensive National Science Center has continued to improve. The establishment of national laboratories has been accelerated, with 14 major national S&T infrastructures having been built or under construction, initially forming the world’s largest, most comprehensive, and complete photonics major S&T infrastructure cluster. A number of high-level research institutes representing the cutting-edge development direction of world S&T, such as the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, the Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, and the International Innovation Center of Tsinghua University, Shanghai, have been newly built and brought together.

– Major original S&T achievements have continued to emerge. Facing the cutting edge of world S&T, a number of pioneering achievements have emerged, such as the world’s first circadian rhythm disorder cloned monkey model, the world’s first artificial single-chromosome eukaryotic cell, and the world’s first 10-petawatt (PW) laser amplification output. Shanghai scientists have published 124 papers in the three major journals Science, Nature, and Cell, accounting for 32% of the nation’s total published papers in those journals. Facing major national needs, a number of major national S&T tasks have been accelerated. Shanghai has participated in the completion of major projects, such as the Jiaolong Manned Submersible, Xuelong Polar Observation Vessel, Tiangong Space Station, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), and large aircraft, and have reached major achievements such as 300-millimeter large silicon wafers to fill domestic shortcomings. Facing the main economic battlefield, major breakthroughs have been made on strategic products such as etching machines and photolithography machines, artificial intelligence (AI) cloud training and inference chips have been released, and the performance and energy efficiency ratios of specific fields have reached the world’s leading level. Facing the people’s livelihoods and health, the innovative drug GV-971 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s pathogens, advanced molecular imaging equipment for panoramic positron emission tomography (PET)/ computerized tomography (CT), the first domestically produced cardiac pacemaker, blood flow steering devices, and other major original biomedical products have been approved for listing.

– Our attractiveness to high-level talents has continued to grow. There are 178 academicians in Shanghai who belong to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ranking the city second in the country). The city also has 1,617 leading talents in the “Local Team” (“地方队”) training program, a total of 1,027 Oriental Scholars (东方学者), 1,338 Shuguang scholars (曙光学者), 1,157 members in the super postdoctoral incentive program, and 3,065 participants in the Youth Rising Star Program (青年启明星计划). The number of foreigners working in Shanghai is 215,000 (23.7% of the country’s total), and about 50,000 work permits for high-end foreign talents have been issued. The number and quality of foreign talents introduced ranks first in the country, and for 8 consecutive years, Shanghai has been ranked “the most attractive Chinese city in the eyes of foreign talents,” becoming the Chinese city of choice for the career development of global scientists.

– Our ability to serve the real economy has steadily increased. New and old conversion of industry has accelerated (产业新旧动能加快转换), as have breakthroughs in key and core technologies in key areas such as integrated circuits, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and AI. In 2019, the scale of our integrated circuit industry accounted for more than 20% of the national total, innovative drugs in the biotech and pharma industry have been approved for listing, accounting for about one-third of the country’s total, and the local AI industry has gathered about one-third of the country’s relevant talent. The energy levels (能级) of various innovative entities have continued to improve, the number of high-tech enterprises has exceeded 17,000, and a number of “hidden champions” in niche domains have accelerated. There are nearly 20 functional platforms for R&D and transformation, driving the industry output value of tens of billions of RMB. There are 14 national university science parks, more than 500 makerspaces, and nearly 30,000 small- and medium-sized technology companies and teams being incubated and served. A total of 771 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 481 foreign R&D centers have been introduced, ranking the city first in the country in terms of numbers. The construction of a multi-level capital market has been accelerated, and the STAR Market¹ has established and piloted a registration system. As of the end of 2020, there have been 215 listed companies, with a total of more than RMB 300 billion in funds raised and a total market value of nearly RMB 3.5 trillion. Specifically, 37 Shanghai companies are listed on the STAR Market, ranking the city first in the country in terms of raised funds and market value.

– Regional radial impact has continuously improved. Zhangjiang, Lingang, Minhang, Yangpu, Xuhui, Jiading, Songjiang, and other S&T innovation center incubators each have their own characteristics. The formation of the core area of the Pudong S&T Innovation Center has accelerated. The establishment of the Yangtze River Delta S&T Innovation Community has been accelerated, and the universal exchange of innovation vouchers has been gradually realized. International S&T cooperation and exchanges have been intensified. The preparations for the “Whole-Brain Mesoscopic Neural Connection Map”  (“全脑介观神经联接图谱”) major scientific project are progressing smoothly, and participation in the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope, and other major scientific programs (projects) has continued to deepen. Inter-governmental S&T cooperation agreements have been signed with more than 20 countries and regions and more than 20 Belt and Road² international joint laboratories have been built. The international influence of events such as the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), Pujiang Innovation Forum, World Laureates Forum, and International Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition has continued to increase.

– Comprehensive innovation and reform experiments have advanced in an in-depth manner. Legal and policy systems that conform to the laws of S&T innovation are continuing to be built, and the “22 S&T Innovations,” “25 Scientific Reforms,” the Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on Promoting the Conversion of Science and Technology Achievements into Practical Applications, the Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on Promoting the Construction of Science and Technology Innovation Centers, and other policies and regulations have been promulgated and implemented. The comprehensive innovation and reform experiment has achieved remarkable results. With a focus on the conversion of S&T achievements into practical applications (科技成果转化), S&T finance, and other fields, more than 70 local supporting policies and more than 170 reform measures have been introduced. At present, the 10 major reform measures that the State Council has authorized Shanghai to take the lead on have been fully implemented, and among the three batches of 56 replicable promotion measures approved by the State Council, 12 are based on Shanghai’s experience.

(ii) New situation and new missions faced during the establishment of the S&T innovation center with global influence during the 14th Five-Year Plan period

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1. Translator’s note: The STAR Market (科创板) is also known as the Sci-Tech Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It was launched in July 2019 and markets itself as China’s equivalent of the NASDAQ exchange in the United States.
2. Translator’s note: The “Belt and Road” (“一带一路”) refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt (丝绸之路经济带) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (21世纪海上丝绸之路).