Jiading district in Shanghai accelerates innovation in key industries

Jiading district, one of Shanghai's burgeoning outlying areas, is gearing up to propel the development of the city's core industries in integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, as it forges ahead in innovation within the automotive and biomedical sectors, said the district government authorities.

Deputy District Governor of Jiading, Zhu Xiaojie, announced during a briefing that Jiading has been actively nurturing its key industries, with a target for the three leading sectors to achieve a combined output of 450 billion yuan ($62.2 billion) by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). Highlighting the district's future development plans, Zhu emphasized the importance of modernizing the automotive industry and fostering coordinated innovation in the biomedical sector.

Situated in northwestern Shanghai across 463 square kilometers, Jiading is strategically positioned to bolster Shanghai's economy and drive progress in the cities within the Yangtze River Delta region.

With over 600 enterprises dedicated to modernizing the automotive sector, Jiading is embracing the trend towards electrification, connectivity, shared mobility and intelligent vehicles. The Shanghai Automotive Chip Valley, operational since September 2023, stands as a testament to the district's advancements in automotive modernization.

The chip valley is dedicated to the research, development and production of chips for smart vehicles and high-quality automobile-grade intelligent sensors. At its core lies the Shanghai Automotive IC Engineering Center, aimed at enhancing the security of China's automotive chip supply chains through domestically designed and manufactured chips.

Zhang Haitao, deputy manager of the center, outlined the chip valley's objectives of promoting domestically produced chips through a comprehensive service platform encompassing testing, design and production processes.

In the realm of biomedical innovation, the Shanghai MedValley, launched in 2023, stands as a testament to Jiading's ongoing commitment to the industry. Serving as an integrated industrial park housing research and development facilities, corporate headquarters, and manufacturing units, the MedValley is a hub of innovation.

The Shanghai MedValley's core functional area accommodates the Ruijin Hospital National Medical Center and the Shanghai MedValley Industrial Park, while the Innovation Island hosts a business headquarters park, college inspection area, manufacturing sectors and scientific research institutes.

Ge Xiaojing, the valley's general manager, highlighted the collaborative environment within the valley, where medical experts and industry professionals interact daily to spark innovative ideas. He emphasized the district's potential to initiate innovation projects and stressed the importance of fostering connections between institutions through existing platforms to translate promising scientific research into tangible industrial applications.

"It can be said that Jiading district possesses the capacity to drive innovation initiatives. Our focus now is on strengthening connections between institutions through established platforms," Ge said. "By doing so, we can ensure that valuable basic scientific research findings are effectively implemented in the industrial sector."

Gu Yingjie contributed to this story.