A bird's-eye view of Suzhou New District. [Photo/WeChat account: snd-szgxqfb]
The State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense signed agreements with Suzhou on July 18 to cooperate on advanced technological achievements.
According to the agreement, the Yangtze River Delta transformation center for national advanced technological achievements was officially established in Suzhou and three incubator bases in Suzhou New District, Xiangcheng district, and Taicang were also unveiled
The first batch of transformation projects were also signed on the same day.
Suzhou has been chosen as the location for the establishment of the YRD transformation center because of its solid industrial foundation, superior business environment, and good location.
According to Xu Kunlin, Party secretary of Suzhou, the city is home to 35 industrial sectors, 167 industrial medium-level sectors, and 491 industrial sub-sectors. Its two major industries - electronic information and equipment manufacturing – both have output values in excess of one trillion yuan ($154.69 billion).
The city has received approval to build national innovation centers for biopharmaceutical technology, the third generation semiconductor technology, and new generation artificial intelligence.
The city has also introduced universities and institutes, and formed high-end innovation incubators like Gusu Lab.
The city has been encouraging companies to transform their achievements with financial support. For instance, an advanced technology research project will receive a subsidy of 10 million yuan; a newly-built national science and technology innovation platform will receive more than 50 million; and a major innovation team will receive project funding of up to 50 million.
