Guangzhou builds development poles of innovation

Laboratories and research institutes are another source of Guangzhou's success in innovation. At present, Guangzhou has 19 State Key Laboratories and 213 Province Key Laboratories, accounting for 70 percent and 69 percent respectively of the total number of such labs in Guangdong province. Eight province-level new-type research institutes were established last year, making the total number of such institutes reach 52, the highest among all the cities of Guangdong province.

Guangzhou keeps attracting cutting-edge research teams and projects, delivering major technical breakthroughs that can be commercialized. For example, the Research Institute of Tsinghua, Pearl River Delta alone has set up 13 advanced research centers in Guangzhou, introducing to the city nearly 20 high-tech projects such as the mini supercapacitor, ultrafast rechargeable aluminum-ion battery, and the ultra-broadband wireless chip.

Currently, six Nobel Prize winners, 79 academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, and 281 scholars from China's Recruitment Program of Global Experts are working in Guangzhou.

This year, Guangzhou will accelerate the construction of Pearl River Delta (Guangzhou) National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone and aim to reach the highest standards for such innovation zones in China by 2020. The government will also further raise R&D expenditures and draw more high-end technology talents.

Guangzhou unleashes the vitality of innovation through technology finance

Last year, Guangzhou made multiple breakthroughs in terms of the coordinated development of technology and finance. Guangzhou implemented the action plan to build internationally influential venture capital investment center, set up a 5-billion-yuan foundation on industrialization of technological innovations, established China's first-ever research academy on innovation venture capital, and held China's first-ever innovation venture capital activity week.

Guangzhou also designed a technology credit action plan for small and mid-sized technology enterprises having financing difficulties, which have provided unsecured loans for more than 200 companies.

Up to now, Guangzhou has 465 "new three board" listed companies, 91 percent of which are technology enterprises.

This year, Guangzhou will further develop the three platforms of equity, credit, and capital market to ensure adequate financial services for innovation enterprises at all phases. It will also step up efforts attracting angel capitalists and venture capitalists from home and abroad to settle in the city. Furthermore, it will expand the scale of the technology credit risk compensation capital pool, inviting more participating commercial banks and designing more financial products for the cause.

Another point worth mentioning is Guangzhou's efforts in drawing global wisdom. Last year, Guangzhou successfully introduced the world-renowned Stanford Research Institute International and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and held the Fortune Brainstorm Tech International conference.