Shanghai's Zhangjiang High Tech Park is home to 60 percent of the city's top-rated innovative talents and startup entrepreneurs, authorities claimed at a symposium on Oct 16.

According to statistics, it has more than 10,000 innovative entrepreneurs, 53,800 leading R&D talents, and over 200,000 technical personnel, most of whom work in fields such as integrated circuit and biomedicine.

Chen Wei, head of Zhangjiang Platform Economy Research Institute, said that Zhangjiang, using its advantages as part of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and a national innovation demonstration zone, has made a large number of technological achievements including quantum communication satellite and chips used for fifth generation mobile network.

The area takes lead in industrial innovation, forming high-tech industrial clusters featuring biomedicine, integrated circuit, high-end equipment, brain-like intelligence technology, artificial intelligence and precision medicine. About one third of the country's Category One new drugs are developed in Zhangjiang.

It unites local, national, and international R&D forces and enhances industry-university-research cooperation to push forward technological innovation and technology transfer.

Zhangjiang's development from a rural area to China’s leading science city over the past 25 years embodies the continuous progress of the country's high-tech parks, said Ge Peijian, vice chairman of Shanghai Zhangjiang High Tech Park Development Co.

The Zhangjiang High-Tech Park has grown from a single park to 22 parks covering 531 square kilometers over the past two decades. It received the approval from the State Council as a national innovation demonstration zone in 2011, marking its move to a new development stage, at which point it began working to develop an innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, emerging industries, talented people from around the world, and reform policies.

Shanghai's Zhangjiang High Tech Park is home to 60 percent of the city's top-rated innovative talents and startup entrepreneurs. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]