New Journey with Ambitions and Solid Commitment

Change and consistency are like two sides of the same coin - opposite, yet interdependent. Under certain conditions, those are interchangeable. It reflects the status that FHIDZ has encountered. 

During the fifth round of reform, the ranking of FHIDZ among the national high-tech zones comprehensive evaluation fluctuated. In 2019, it ranked 29th, rose to 25th in 2020, dropped back to 29th in 2021, and advanced to 27th in 2022. Among the six national high-tech zones in Guangdong Province that ranked in the national top 30, FHIDZ was the fifth, making it the one making the greatest progress in the province.

“Among 41 quantitative indicators of the Torch evaluation, 21 indicators of FHIDZ have made to the national top 20," said Shao Haoyang, Director of the Enterprise Service Bureau of FHIDZ in an interview.

Achieving such good results without a core industrial park or primary financial support demonstrates FHIDZ's exceptional innovation and coordination abilities. 

FHIDZ's role in the "One Zone, Five Parks" framework is to coordinate efforts. This includes organizing overall development plans, industrial development plan, technological innovation and digital industrial park plans, as well as overseeing investment attraction,  which includes formulating strategies, refining assessment mechanisms, and establishing a list of investment attraction carriers and workstations.

In 2023, the FHIDZ strived to build an efficient coordination mechanism according to the framework, significantly enhancing its development synergy. Throughout the year, 56 projects with investments exceeding 100 million yuan were introduced, adding up to a total investment of 84.434 billion yuan, including 21 billion-yuan-level projects.

In the first half of 2024, FHIDZ collaborated with the Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau, District Investment Promotion Bureau, and the five park management bureaus to discuss and connect with over 100 investment projects. More than 65 projects with investments exceeding 100 million yuan each were introduced, totaling 32.271 billion yuan, including 14 billion-yuan-level projects with a total investment of 18.7 billion yuan.

No matter how it changes in the future, FHIDZ always holds its consistency in adaptation. 

Consistency in commitment

Northern Foshan Strategic New Industrial Park (hereinafter referred to as “Northern Industrial Park”) has a total planned area of 518 square kilometers, spanning nine towns across Nanhai and Sanshui districts. The plan outlines a spatial layout of “one core, one axis, one belt, and multiple clusters".

The “One Core” refers to FHIDZ’s Yundonghai Biotech Hub; the “One Axis” is the Guangzhou-Foshan coordinated development axis; the "One Belt" is the airport economic zone. Northern Industrial Park has been listed as one of the seven large industrial clusters in Guangdong Province.

In September 2022, the Foshan Municipal Party Committee and Foshan government issued a document that assigned FHIDZ the additional responsibility of overseeing Northern Industrial Park. This increased the zone's responsibilities, including implementing key strategies and projects and overseeing industrial layout, land use, and industrial layout of Top Ten Innovation-driven Characteristic Manufacturing Industry Parks.

In response, FHIDZ reorganized its structure, establishing new departments like the Key Projects Bureau and the Enterprise Service Bureau, consolidating resources to focus on two core tasks - advancing technology to support high-quality manufacturing, while improving services to create top-notch business environment.

Leveraging its city-level platform to manage and lead in policy innovation, funds settlement, and project management, the FHIDZ has spearheaded the planning and design of key areas in Northern Industrial Park, enlisting five experts in urban planning, urban design, industrial economics, and ecological landscapes to review the outcome of Yundonghai Biotech Hub and Datong Lake Tech Park, creating a blueprint for a world-class emerging industries park.

To rapidly establish the park's infrastructure, the FHIDZ successfully secured over 1 billion yuan in special bonds used in infrastructure construction. In 2023, it secured 483.5 million yuan in bonds for various projects. So far all funds of special bonds have been disbursed.

In the first half of 2024, the FHIDZ applied for seven special bond projects for Northern Industrial Park, with an advance bond of 76 million yuan already issued, which greatly improved the construction efficiency of Northern Industrial Park. So far, key projects such as the phase one of the Guangdong Medical Valley of Yundonghai Biotech Hub and Datong Lake Tech Park's high-end medical equipment innovation and intelligent center have been topped off, and five road network projects have been completed.

Consistency in Coordination

Foshan Talent Innovation Lighthouse Industrial Park is the first industrial park in Foshan's history named after "talent". The city government has decided that the FHIDZ will oversee and lead the construction of the 30-square-kilometer Lighthouse Talent Industrial Park, with city-level unified management in planning, construction, and investment promotion.

Adopting a development strategy of "city-level coordination, top-and-down linkage, and cyclical rolling", the FHIDZ unites efforts across the municipal, district, and town levels. It has prepared a master construction plan for the Lighthouse Industrial Park and is leading the creation of a command center and special task force to promote its construction. A high-standard "1+2+X" planning framework has been established, covering overall planning, industrial layout, urban design, and detailed designs for key areas.

To ensure coordinated industrial innovation, FHIDZ has firmly taken on the main responsibility. It has scientifically planned the overall spatial structure of the park, consisting of "one core, three cities, and four parks". By leveraging its strengths in technology finance, industrial development, policy support, and resource allocation, FHIDZ has created an efficient and smooth operating mechanism. This mechanism fosters a symbiotic and co-creative environment where industry, city, and culture integrate seamlessly, forming a new model that supports Foshan’s "Northward Strategy" and the "Lighthouse Talent" strategy.

In the first half of 2024, the Lighthouse Industrial Park made significant progress. The key technology incubation project, Wanyang Tech Innovation Park, has been completed and delivered. The main building of the Lighthouse Tech Innovation Tower has been completed. Over 20 technology projects, including Feishi Technology, have been introduced, accelerating the formation of an integrated industrial ecosystem covering industry, university, research, and innovation.

Consistency in Exploration

FHIDZ is a national pilot park for intellectual property (IP), striving to build an IP protection system and explore the establishment of a full-chain IP management mechanism. The goal is to leverage intellectual property to support the park’s innovation-driven development and industrial transformation.

Currently, FHIDZ processes around 10,000 patent applications annually, with 3,500 for invention patents. With the growing concentration of innovation resources from tech companies, research institutions, and universities, the demand for IP protection continues to grow.

To strengthen judicial IP protection, FHIDZ, supported by the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, has set up a court circuit in the Nanhai Industrial Park. This court handles various IP civil cases in Foshan and surrounding areas.

FHIDZ has also signed a cooperation framework agreement with the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court to establish a litigation-mediation mechanism for resolving IP disputes. This effort strengthens Foshan's IP mediation work and supports the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy.

"Every year, there are about 300 IP cases involving the industrial park.  20% of which are resolved through mediation. To build a strong IP brand, we have also established an IP operation center and created the province's first IP-themed creative park—FHIDZ Intellectual Property Park—to provide better services for tech innovation in the area," said Tan Yanling, a member of the FHIDZ Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee.

Consistency in Service

FHIDZ has undertaken 115 administrative powers transferred from municipal departments, setting up dedicated approval channels for businesses, ensuring that affairs can be handled inside the zone.

In recent years, FHIDZ has deepened reforms by delegating administrative approval authority to industrial park management bureaus. Each industrial park has set up approval departments and specialized service areas, integrating resources to establish an efficient approval system.

As of 2024, FHIDZ has processed 232 business requests, approved 124 of them, repelled 66, and issued 132 electronic certificates or approvals.

Consistency in Innovation

FHIDZ continues to promote the "Best for you" enterprise service system, rolling out the "Five Ones" service initiative. This includes creating a one-stop service platform, establishing a batch of service stations, forming a pool of enterprise service resource, building a service team, and conducting a series of service activities. So far, FHIDZ has set up 20 enterprise service stations and selected 96 institutions to form a resource pool. In the first half of this year, FHIDZ provided services to over 4,300 enterprises along with social service institutions.

Additionally, FHIDZ is enriching its financial products and services. In collaboration with ICBC, it has set up a technology-finance innovation service center with a dedicated 30-billion-yuan loan fund for FHIDZ enterprises. Products like the "FHIDZ Digital Loan" and "FHIDZ IP Pledge Loan" have been introduced, granting credit to 229 enterprises with a total of 43.984 billion yuan.

FHIDZ has also implemented a point system for innovation evaluation, guiding policies and funds toward high-potential tech firms. Through this system, 22 enterprises have received over 1.058 billion yuan in approved funding. With these innovative efforts, the FHIDZ was awarded the title of "Enterprise Innovation Point System" excellent unit by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

It’s clear that FHIDZ’s advantage is its consistency—an adaptation that evolves with the times.

At the historical turning point of transitioning from big to strong, the FHIDZ is working hard to become a world-class advanced manufacturing zone, a hub for pioneering high-tech strategies, and a model for high-quality development in national high-tech zones.

Set out once again with unchanged original aspiration.

By 2025, FHIDZ aims to become a top-tier advanced manufacturing zone in China and the driving force for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's international technology innovation center. The industrial output value (above scale) of the park will reach 750 billion yuan, with 4,500 high-tech enterprises and 400 gazelle companies, singles champion companies, and unicorn companies. The number of listed companies is expected to reach reach 130, and there will be 50 national-level research institutions and 45 national innovation and entrepreneurship service organizations, making the FHIDZ one of the most important innovation platforms in Foshan.

With these efforts, FHIDZ is anticipated to contribute to Foshan's growth as a trillion-yuan city.