A view of Chengdu Science City. (PHOTO: VCG)

By CHEN Chunyou

Chengdu of Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality will speed up the construction of a western science city and a science and technology innovation hub with national influence, according to a document, jointly issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and 11 other departments, along with Sichuan and Chongqing.

In order to drive the coordinated development of the two regions, the science city will be built based on the existing sci-tech parks in the cities of Chengdu, Chongqing and Mianyang,  and efforts will be made to accelerate cluster development and create a cooperative innovation network, according to the document released on April 12.

The document outlines key objectives of building the science city, which include establishing a number of globally influential innovation platforms and research bases, as well as gathering a batch of renowned universities, institutes and innovative enterprises by 2025. They will be tasked with achieving breakthroughs in innovative research in basic disciplines, such as material science and nuclear science.

In addition, the science city is encouraged to invest more than five percent of regional GDP in total R&D spending, and produce high-value patents in excess of 80 per 10,000 people, while it is expected to establish a high-tech industrial cluster, with more inbound high-tech enterprises, and increased turnovers of technology contracts.

To enhance the competitive edge of strategic industries, Sichuan and Chongqing will set up a joint research fund, to support research in key and core technologies, according to the document.

Of particular note, it also vows to build a national pilot zone for future industries, and a Chengdu-Chongqing hub of a national integrated computing network.