CSGKC grows into highland for knowledge economy

How long will it take for 8.08 square kilometers of farmland to grow into a 232-sq-km national-level innovation center with many global leading enterprises?

Ten years, according to the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City in South China's Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

On March 13, 2012, when Ascendas OneHub GKC, the first industrial incubation project in the knowledge city broke ground, the CSGKC was on a mission to be a world-leading innovation hub.

Today, it has become a modern boomtown with spaces for production, living and ecological development harmoniously laid out.

This year, 186 projects with a total investment exceeding 300 billion yuan ($41.67 billion) are under construction in the knowledge city. Accumulatively, 24,000 entities have been registered with the CSGKC over the past 10 years with total registration capital of nearly 500 billion yuan.

Milestones of development

In July 2016, the State Council approved the CSGKC to be a pilot zone for intellectual property rights protection and reform. The knowledge city was set to be an innovation-centered hub with effective IP protection mechanisms and to explore ways for China to further boost the development of intellectual property rights.

The CSGKC was upgraded in 2018 to be a national-level bilateral cooperation project between China and Singapore.

Linking global resources

Beginning as an international cooperation project, the CSGKC has long been committed to promoting opening-up in China.

The China-Singapore Smart Park of the CSGKC, focusing on the digital economy, green development, biomedicine and smart city construction, opened in June this year, marking a new milestone in Sino-Singaporean cooperation.

The China-Singapore International Joint Research Institute set up its headquarters in the smart park and attracted more than 60 industrial and business projects, including SP Group and NCS China. With an investment of more than 1.4 billion yuan, the smart park has 12 buildings with major functions featuring demonstration and exchange spaces, industrial incubation and acceleration rooms and residential facilities.

The opening of the smart park marked the CSGKC's new round of development: entry into the stage of more diversified development in the future, said Xu Hui, deputy director of the collaboration affairs office of the CSGKC.

The CSGKC has been deepening cooperation with partners from Singapore in fields including advanced manufacturing, intellectual property protection and talent cultivation. More than 60 cooperation projects were signed to support the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and to cement the relationship between China and the 10 ASEAN member states.

Looking ahead, the CSGKC is keen to strengthen partnerships with Singapore in the medical sector and explore future business growth opportunities arising from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement in relevant fields.

As the only region of its type in China which puts patent, trademark and copyright creation, application and protection under one roof, the CSGKC is accelerating its bid to be a globally influential national-level knowledge center, with IP services leading the way.

In April, the IP service center of the CSGKC opened to the public to provide services such as advice, application and communication. The center boasts 10 overseas service providers and 20 domestic service providers, covering the entire IP industrial chain.

In May, the China National Intellectual Property Administration approved three foreign IP service agencies to set up representative offices in China. Two of the three are in the knowledge city. On Sept 1, Novartis became to the first foreign IP service agent to complete registration in China.

Embracing opportunities

Over the last 10 years, the CSGKC has been injecting vitality into emerging industries for high-quality development.

The annual industrial output value of the bioscience sector has surged since 2012. The number of innovative pharmaceutical projects launched by leading enterprises including BeiGene and InnoCare has exceeded 40.

The CSGKC will be one of the largest biomedicine production hubs in Asia. Annual production capacity of macromolecular drug concentration is to reach 660,000 liters in the near future when the 40-odd projects come on stream.

The integrated circuits industry also made technological breakthroughs. More than 80 enterprises along the IC industrial chain, including CanSemi and Shennan Circuits, have settled in the CSGKC, and are expected to generate more than 300 billion yuan in sales revenue by 2035.

CanSemi's project, which only took 18 months to achieve mass production, is the only one of its kind which could produce 12-inch chips in Guangdong.

Over the last 10 years, the knowledge city has been building innovation chains to support its development of industrial chains. Vast leading research institutes and national and provincial-level platforms have been introduced to the region.

It houses an aircraft tire dynamics center and the third-generation semiconductor innovation center; established the biological environment scientific center for the Bay Area; the China-Singapore International Joint Research Institute; and made inroads into silicon carbide chip development.

A total of 21 research and development platforms and 60 key labs are working on core technologies of frontier industries such as information technology and new materials.

"By combining talent, the most valuable resources; and innovation, the most powerful engine for development, the CSGKC presents a clear path to knowledge-driven high-quality development," said Wang Tinghui, president of the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences.

The premium R&D environment has been attracting an increasing number of high-caliber professionals to the knowledge city, which has secured more than 100 scientists for its strategic development as well as another 1,260 high-caliber talent. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 candidates are studying and doing research there for their master's or PhD degree. The number of postdoctoral working stations accounts for nearly one-third of the total in Guangzhou.

"The CSGKC has become a model in demonstrating development in Guangzhou over the last 10 years," said Loh Tuck Keat, consul-general of Singapore in Guangzhou, adding the development of the CSGKC remains stable despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the 15-year development plan for the CSGKC approved by the State Council in 2020, the CSGKC will become a hub of new knowledge; a gathering place of global talent; a demonstration zone of opening-up and cooperation; and a driver for the high-quality development in the Bay Area.

A bird's-eye view of China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, which has become an innovation hub in Guangdong province. CHINA DAILY

Young people exchange ideas in a cafe within Ascendas OneHub GKC. CHINA DAILY

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