Pudong New Area in East China's Shanghai aims to develop into a scientific and technical innovation center with global influence during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. [Photo/WeChat account: pdnews]

Pudong New Area in East China's Shanghai has released a new plan to strengthen its scientific innovation capability during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, aiming to develop into a scientific and technical innovation center with global influence, the local government announced on Oct 27.

According to the plan, the annual growth rate of research and development investment in Pudong is expected to exceed 10 percent by 2025. It is also expected that Pudong will have at least 250 public services platforms at the municipal level or above serving technology companies during the period.

The plan also states that there should be over 50 high-value patents per 10,000 people, at least 200 innovation incubators, and 100 bases for the popularization of science in Pudong by 2025.

Authorities said that the new plan is an important step for Pudong to ensure the sound implementation of its plan to develop the area into a leading pilot zone for socialist modernization through high-level reform and opening up.

More efforts will be made to spur cutting-edge scientific research and to seek breakthroughs in key technologies and product innovation, said Xu Minxu, deputy director of Pudong's technology and economic commission.

Pudong will focus on the development of several "hardcore industries," such as information technology, new materials and life sciences, integrated circuits (IC), biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence (AI), aeronautics and astronautics, intelligent vehicles, as well as smart manufacturing, according to the plan.

Pudong will give full play to the industrial agglomeration effect of Shanghai's Zhangjiang Science City, aiming to develop it into a world-class science center. Efforts will also be made to promote the high-quality development of Lin-gang Special Area, as well as to support scientific research to focus on solving bottlenecks in core technologies, especially in key industries like AI and IC. The link between basic research, applications, and industrialization should also be further strengthened.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Zhangjiang Science City will make human resources the priority in the area's development. Regulations will also be established, while a mature system to cultivate talent will be formed, aiming to make Zhangjiang a hub of high-end talents with global influence, according to local authorities.

The plan also makes it clear that Pudong will set up an innovative ecosystem to better serve its startups, while more supportive measures will be rolled out to spur the high-quality development of its enterprises.