Foshan National High-tech Industrial Development Zone: Striving for Excellence in Building a Science and Innovation Hub

Construction in full swing for a good start.

Since the beginning of 2024, Foshan National High-tech Industrial Development Zone (hereinafter referred to as FHIDZ) is in full swing. Inside the production workshops of Origin Intelligent, machines roar as automated production lines operate at full throttle; every day, pressure pipes prefabricated by Foster are shipped nationwide and even worldwide; and in the core starting area of Northern Foshan Strategic New Industrial Park, a batch of key projects is progressing rapidly.

This epitomizes FHIDZ journey towards high-quality development and its practical commitment to shaping new competitive advantages.

A set of data provides a more vivid picture: as of now, FHIDZ has attracted nearly 2,000 technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); it has 21 enterprises with national-level research and development institutions; and the proportion of foreign nationals and returnees from overseas study accounts for 1.5%, ranking 14th, 17th, and 14th respectively among national high-tech zones. In 2023, FHIDZ's enterprises under the jurisdiction are expected to achieve a total industrial output value of 472.657 billion yuan and operating income of 585.941 billion yuan.

The image shows Guangdong Financial High-tech Zone located in Nanhai. Image provided by FHIDZ

Cultivating over 5,400 High-tech enterprises to boost scientific innovation

Technological innovation is a key driver and decisive factor for a city's high-quality development.

When observing a city's technological innovation capabilities, high and new technology enterprises (referred to as "high-tech enterprises") are one of the most direct windows.

At the turning point of the new year 2024, Foshan received good news: in 2023, the number of high-tech enterprises in Foshan exceeded 10,000 for the first time, reaching an estimated 10,300, an increase of 18.4% compared to the previous year, ranking first among prefecture-level cities in the province.

Foshan shoulders the heavy responsibility of fostering high-tech enterprises in Guangdong, and FHIDZ supports half of Foshan's high-tech enterprises. By the end of 2023, the total number of high-tech enterprises in FHIDZ is expected to exceed 5,400. In other words, although FHIDZ accounts for only 12% of the total area of Foshan, it gathers 53% of the city's high-tech enterprises.

What's even more remarkable is that this 53% share increased by nearly 6 percentage points compared to the previous year, setting a new record for growth. It is estimated that by 2025, this proportion will reach 60%.

According to the requirements of the "14th Five-Year Plan" for the development of national high-tech industrial development zones, FHIDZ aims to become a high-tech park with world influence. It needs to further expand its innovative enterprise groups, cultivate more leading enterprises in technology.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to build more high-standard and high-level carriers from a high starting point.

In accordance with the decision-making arrangements of the Foshan Municipal Party Committee and Government, FHIDZ is actively promoting the construction of Northern Foshan Strategic New Industrial Park, focusing on Foshan Talent Innovation Lighthouse Industrial Park, steadily advancing the construction of four major strategic new industry parks including integrated circuits (semiconductors), artificial intelligence (industrial robots), digital economy, and nanotechnology innovation parks. Meanwhile, it will promote key construction projects such as Lighthouse Science and Technology Innovation Center, Foshan Wanyang Science and Technology Innovation Park, and other key construction projects to reach the top; taking the lead in formulating the industrial planning and urban design of Foshan Yundonghai Medical Health Industry Park, the introduction of the National Medical Products Administration's key laboratories, and the topping-out ceremony for the Guangdong Medical Valley Phase I project, all spearheaded the advancement.

In 2023, the FHIDZ's "one district and five parks" attracted investment in 56 projects exceeding one hundred million yuan, totaling 84.434 billion yuan, with many projects hailing from Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and beyond, particularly in emerging industries like semiconductors, biomedicine, and new materials. Moreover, 21 high-level talent teams in future industries such as semiconductors, biomedicine, and new materials have been attracted to settle in.

Serving over 10,000 enterprises for the growth of enterprises

The advancement of enterprises towards high-quality development is inseparable from the support of soft services.

In the past year, the FHIDZ has launched the comprehensive service project, aiming to construct an integrated enterprise service platform, establish a group of enterprise service stations, build an enterprise service resource pool, form an enterprise service team, and conduct a series of enterprise service activities. Currently, the first batch of 9 enterprise service stations has been established; 78 organizations have been selected to form the enterprise service resource pool; the integrated service platform has been launched; a team of one hundred enterprise service specialists has been assembled; and a series of service activities such as the High-tech Symposium, the Bay Area Black Horse Competition, and Foshan Enterprises Entering Xi'an Jiaotong University have been organized, accumulating more than 10,000 contacts with service enterprises throughout the year.

Furthermore, the FHIDZ has organized enterprises to go abroad multiple times to seize oversea opportunities: 72 automotive parts enterprises participated in the 17th Frankfurt Auto Parts Exhibition (Shenzhen Special Exhibition), garnering nearly 800 million yuan in intended orders; 18 enterprises participated in the 2023 Cologne Dental Exhibition in Germany, gaining nearly 100 intended clients. The Science and Technology Achievement Express has facilitated precise and effective industry-academia-research cooperation by carrying Foshan's industries and enterprise needs multiple times to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and even Hong Kong for the first time.

Scientific innovation relies on capital, and financing difficulties have always been a problem plaguing technology-based enterprises. The FHIDZ has established multiple financial cooperation channels, such as collaborating with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to launch exclusive financial products like the "FHIDZ Digital Loan" and the "FHIDZ Intellectual Property Pledge Loan," benefiting 286 high-tech zone enterprises with a loan balance of 19.346 billion yuan. A series of products and services are boosting the accelerated growth of enterprises.

Hu Xuejun, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the FHIDZ, revealed that in the future, the FHIDZ will closely follow the specific deployment of the Provincial Party Committee's "1310" initiative and the Municipal Party Committee's "515" high-quality development goals, construct a new pattern of "one district, one core, and five parks," enhance the technological research and development level of major innovation platforms, promote the formation of advantageous industrial clusters such as new energy vehicles, high-end equipment manufacturing, biomedicine, high-end software, and robotics, promote industrial development towards intelligent, high-end, and greenization, adhere to the dual focus on developing hard technology and improving soft services, and achieve more outstanding results in implementing "high" and "new" strategies.

Such a future is intriguing and eagerly awaited.

Case:

Huayun Tongda: The dark horse broke the foreign monopoly

In September 2023, the 19th Asian Games opened successfully, and behind this globally renowned event, the shadow of a Foshan enterprise emerged.

During the Asian Games preparation period, Huayun Tongda Technology Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huayun Tongda"), a national-level specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprise from the FHIDZ, undertook a series of tasks to upgrade and improve road quality.

Huayun Tongda, which originated from the laboratory R&D just four years ago, has grown into a "hidden champion." Image provided by FHIDZ

The core technology of Huayun Tongda's independently developed high-toughness ultra-thin asphalt wear layer, compared with conventional technology, can save 60% of asphalt materials, 75% of high-quality stone materials, 65% of labor costs, and 35% of mechanical equipment leasing fees. The expected service life of the relevant implemented sections can reach 8-10 years, breaking the long-standing dominance of foreign technology and concepts in this field.

Currently, the product has been applied to over 500 projects including the artificial island passage of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Baiyun International Airport, and Macao Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, covering 26 provinces, municipalities, and special administrative regions such as Guangdong, Shanghai, and Beijing, with an area of implementation exceeding 30 million square meters.

In December 2023, Huayun Tongda also completed the world's first GT-TECH high-toughness polymer modified emulsified asphalt in-situ structural cold recycling technology application.

As one of the first high-tech industrial entrepreneurial teams introduced and supported by the FHIDZ in 2020, Huayun Tongda has grown into an industry "hidden champion" in just four years starting from the "laboratory." In 2023, its operating income was approximately 160 million yuan, and it was identified as a single champion demonstration enterprise in Guangdong Province and was awarded the honor of being one of Foshan's top 100 science and technology leading enterprises.

The relevant person in charge of the company stated that in recent years, with the support of various levels of science and technology departments in the FHIDZ and the city and district, the company's cost reduction and efficiency improvement achievements have been remarkable, and the technical talent team continues to expand. With the continuous optimization of Foshan's business environment and science and technology policy system, Huayun Tongda is full of confidence in the future.