The Yangtze River Delta has seen strong R&D investment in foreign-invested enterprises, says the newly released Yangtze River Delta FIE (Foreign-invested Enterprises) Sci-Tech Innovation Report.

The report was unveiled at the 2019 Yangtze River Delta FIE Sci-Tech Innovation Forum held in Shanghai on November 12.

Compiled by the Shanghai Foreign Investment Association and Qualcomm Enterprise Management (Shanghai), the report found the funding for research and experiments in the Yangtze River Delta accounts for 30.3% of the country’s total.

In 2018, the total investment inresearch and experimentsin China was just under RMB2 trillion, 11.8% over the previous year. Among the six provinces or municipalities whose funding exceeded RMB100 billion, three were in the Yangtze River Delta (Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai). 

As of the end of 2017, the number of high-tech enterprises across the country was 130,632, while the high-tech enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta accounted for 26.4%.

At the 2019 Yangtze River Delta FIE Sci-Tech Innovation Forum, participants focused on two major topics: Enterprise Innovation & the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and Innovation Cooperation in the Medical & Health Industry.

According to Shang Yuying, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal Government, the Yangtze River Delta is a region with the highest degree of openness and innovation in China, and is also an important meeting point for the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Over the past year, Shanghai has been dedicated to implementing the three decisions on the development of Shanghai that President Xi Jinping elaborated during the first CIIE, which refer to the expansion of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the launch of a science and technology innovation board at the Shanghai Stock Exchange and piloting a registration system for listed companies, as well as the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta Region. In particular among the first 25 tech companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, 12 were in the Delta Region.

Chen Deming, chairman of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, said the Delta is one of the most dynamic and populous regions in China. Foreign enterprises in the Delta are closely linked to the local development. Entrepreneurs in the Delta should support China's sustainable development and win greater profits for their own businesses. As Chen put it, China’s adherence to opening up and its determination to further market access and improve the business climate has provided an inclusive environment for foreign-invested enterprises.

As the Foreign Investment Law will be officially implemented, Chen hopes that foreign-invested enterprises in China can catch up with the new stage of China's development, resolve new issues and draw up new blueprints.

In June 2019, the Alliance of Yangtze River Delta Foreign Investment Associations was established in response to the integrated development of the Delta Region. As the first major event hosted by the alliance, the Yangtze River Delta FIE Sci-Tech Innovation Forum aims to promote the synergy of science and technology innovation policies of the Delta, the construction of a shared service platform for science and technology, and the optimization of science and technology elements of foreign-invested enterprises in the Delta.

(Story by Cao Jun)

(Translated by Wu Qiong)