On November 25th, the "China's Regional Innovation Capacity Evaluation Report of 2023" (here in after referred to as the report) was released in Beijing, with Guangdong leading the nation for the 7th consecutive year.
According to the report, in 2023, Guangdong performed well in all dimensions, ranking first in the country in three indicators, including enterprise innovation, innovation performance, and knowledge acquisition, while its indicators of knowledge creation and innovation environment ranked second.
Guangdong's innovation capability can be attributed to the following major factors:
First, Guangdong has a strong economic foundation and economic structure optimized by policies. Enterprises are the main force of innovation, and innovation is the ultimate result of collaboration between brave entrepreneurs and innovative scientific talents. Guangdong leads in various economic indicators nationwide. For example, Guangdong's major industrial enterprises ranked 1st in revenue. In recent years, Guangdong has optimized its industrial structure and enhanced the number and strength of large-scale industrial enterprises and innovative enterprises through policy incentives and guidance. The report shows that there are 67,000 major industrial enterprises in Guangdong, an increase of 20,000 in five years; there are 69,000 high-tech enterprises, more than double in five years.
Second, Guangdong is actively improving the hardware and software of scientific research infrastructure. In terms of hardware, Guangdong has invested a lot of money in laboratory construction to vigorously promote the construction of colleges and universities, laboratories, and scientific research institutes. Two key national laboratories, Pengcheng Laboratory and Guangzhou Laboratory, have already started operation. In terms of software, Guangdong has strengthened the source supply of industrial technology by investing more than one-third of the special funds for provincial science and technology innovation strategies in basic research.
Third, Guangdong actively promotes collaborative innovation. In terms of industrial collaboration, the Guangdong government has built platforms to promote collaborative innovation among enterprises. In terms of the collaboration among enterprises, universities and research institutes, Guangdong universities and colleges focus on cultivating interdisciplinary, inter-college, and multi-major talents in response to market demand and breaking down professional barriers by actively creating cross-training talent models to enhance the practical abilities of engineering students. This not only provides a large number of innovative and practical talents for Guangdong enterprises, but also enables Guangdong universities and colleges to have a better understanding of the market and be more targeted in research and talent cultivation.
Fourth, Guangdong has strengthened the supply of innovation factors. Scientific and technological innovation depends on the supply of factors like the supply of talents, capital, and data. In terms of talents, Guangdong has actively improved various "recruitment plans" and introduced various talents to promote innovation without regional limitations. A vivid example of Shenzhen's talent introduction is that Yan Ning, a famous scientist, founded the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation. In terms of capital supply, on the one hand, Guangdong solves the problem of R&D funds for enterprises through financial innovation; on the other hand, it actively connects with domestic and foreign investors through several financial channels in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to gain more sources for Guangdong enterprises' innovation.
In summary, Guangdong's innovation capability comes from its strong economic and industrial foundation, increased investment in basic scientific research by Guangdong Province, collaboration between enterprises and between enterprises, colleges and research institutions in Guangdong, and abundant supply of various innovation factors. It can be foreseen that Guangdong will continue to explore and develop new fields in promising industries such as the digital economy, new energy, and life sciences, continuously stimulating new driving forces for high-quality development.
(The author is the co-director and researcher of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center at Zhejiang University's International Business School, and a member of the Expert Committee for Communication Economy of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.)
Source: Yangcheng Evening News
