High-tech zones leading AI, new energy forward

China's national high-tech industrial development zones, the backbone of the country's forward-looking technology sector, are stepping up the push to cultivate emerging sectors such as humanoid robots, quantum information, new energy storage and synthetic biology, the country's top industry regulator said on Wednesday.

The comments came as enterprises in China's national high-tech industrial development zones contribute around 50 percent of the nation's research and development expenditure and invention patents. Meanwhile, the zones have become critical hubs for artificial intelligence development, hosting 60 percent of China's listed AI-related companies and 50 percent of AI unicorns, or startups valued at $1 billion or more, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Yao Jun, head of the MIIT planning department, said that by integrating technological innovation with industrial transformation, China's national high-tech zones aim to build world-class high-tech parks and innovation hubs, positioning themselves as pioneers in innovation-driven development and high-quality growth.

In 2024, high-tech zones have demonstrated remarkable progress in fostering innovation and economic development, contributing significantly to the nation's technological advancement and industrial transformation. The combined GDP of these zones reached 19.3 trillion yuan ($2.67 trillion), marking a year-on-year increase of 7.6 percent.

Additionally, the zones have attracted significant foreign investment, with newly registered foreign enterprises increasing by 24.6 percent year-on-year in 2024, and the zones accounted for about 40 percent of the nation's actual use of total foreign investment.

"By releasing AI application scenario lists and organizing industry-academia collaborative events, high-tech zones have actively promoted the application of AI tech, including AI large language models in key sectors," said Wu Jiaxi, deputy head of the planning department at the MIIT.

Companies have also established innovation centers for humanoid intelligent robots and developed on-chip brain-computer interface intelligent interaction systems in these national high-tech zones, the MIIT added.

Zhou Guangyong, deputy director of the Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone in Hubei province, said the optoelectronic information sector in the zone surpassed 600 billion yuan in revenue last year. The zone has focused on advancing core technologies, establishing world-class innovation platforms, and fostering industrial clusters in integrated circuits and optical communications.

Industrial clusters refer to an industrial grouping formed by a large number of companies and institutions in proximity that carry out mutual cooperation and exchanges. It is considered to be an advanced form of industrial division of labor and agglomeration development, and is part of China's push to pursue high-quality development of manufacturing, experts said.

According to the MIIT, China's high-tech zones continue to play a pivotal role in driving innovation, attracting global talent and fostering economic growth, positioning the nation as a global leader in high-tech industries.