Overview
Chengdu High-tech Zone was established in 1988. In 1991, it was approved as one of the first national high-tech zones in China. In 2006, it was designated by the Ministry of Science and Technology as a pilot zone for establishing a "world-class high-tech park." In 2015, with the approval of the State Council, it became the first national independent innovation demonstration zone in western China, and it is also a comprehensive innovation and reform pilot zone in Sichuan Province and the core area of the China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
In 2023, Chengdu High-tech Zone achieved a regional GDP of RMB 320.12 billion yuan, marking a 6% growth. Its comprehensive strength has consistently ranked among the top tier of national high-tech zones in China.
I. Overall Planning
(I) One Zone, Four Parks
Chengdu High-tech Zone has a permanent resident population of 1,328,800 and a registered population of 900,400. The zone covers an area of 237.22 square kilometers and relies on its "One Zone, Four Parks" structure, which includes the High-tech South Zone, High-tech West Zone, Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-town, and Chengdu Future Science and Technology City, to develop new and high-quality productive forces and accelerate the construction of an industrial technology innovation center.
High-tech South Zone - With an area of 89.82 square kilometers, it encompasses the Jiaozi Park Financial Business District's High-tech area and the High-tech Free Trade Zone.
Chengdu Tianfu Software Park, recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology as a "National Science and Technology Business Incubator," "Innovative Talent Training Demonstration Base," and "Nationally Recognized Incubator for Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation," as well as by the Ministry of Commerce as a "National Digital Service Export Base," has become an important carrier for the innovative development of the new-generation information technology industry in western China. It is the core cluster for innovation and entrepreneurship in western China and a significant base for Chengdu High-tech Zone to build an international innovation and entrepreneurship center.
The Singapore-Sichuan Science and Technology Innovation Park is the first jointly-built park in western China by Sichuan Province and Singapore, focusing on the development of 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, network security, and new medical industries,committed to building a world-class 5G innovation and development pilot zone, a pioneer zone for artificial intelligence innovative applications, and an international cooperation demonstration park.
Tianfu Changdao Digital Cultural and Creative Park is an industrial community established by Chengdu High-tech Zone to support the key development direction of the digital economy. It is dedicated to building the core area of the China (Chengdu) Network Audiovisual Industry Base. Currently, it has signed agreements with projects such as Tencent's New Cultural and Creative Headquarters, iQIYI's Pop Culture Workshop, and Cococartoon.
The China-Europe Centre, operated in May 2017, serves as the permanent venue for the China-Europe Investment, Trade, and Technology Cooperation Forum. With a core focus on being a "center for European exchanges, services, and trade," it aims to be the "bridgehead" for overseas cooperation institutions coming to Chengdu and the "gas station" for domestic service institutions going overseas. It fully promotes comprehensive cooperation between China and Europe in capital, technology, talent, and logistics, actively integrating into the new three-dimensional and comprehensive opening-up pattern of "expanding in four directions and opening up across the board."
Jiaozi Park Financial Business District is led by Chengdu High-tech Zone and located at the intersection of the city's south gate area, the north-south central axis, and the east-west industrial axis. With a vision to "create a nationally leading innovative financial center and a world-class new business district that leads the trend of the times," it focuses on the development of niche segments within key industries such as finance and fashionable consumption. It actively constructs a globally renowned and nationally leading financial business district, providing essential functional support for Chengdu's construction of a western financial center and an international consumption center.
High-tech West Zone - With an area of 43 square kilometers, it serves as the core and leading area for Chengdu's electronic information industry. Centering on the four leading niche segments of "chip-screen-network-terminal," it has gathered a group of internationally renowned enterprises such as Intel, Huawei, BOE, Dell, Texas Instruments, Foxconn, Echint, and GIS, forming four major industrial chains: integrated circuits, new displays, intelligent terminals, and network communications.
Chengdu High-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone (High-tech Park) is located in the High-tech West Zone and was established with the approval of the State Council in 2010. For four consecutive years, Chengdu High-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone has ranked first in the performance evaluation organized by the General Administration of Customs among all comprehensive bonded zones in China.
Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-town - With a planned area of approximately 44 square kilometers, it focuses on five key niche segments: biopharmaceuticals, innovative chemical drugs, high-performance medical devices, professional outsourcing services, and health services, based on the "5+N" model. It promotes the integrated development of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain to enhance the regional driving force and development competitiveness of the modern industrial system. Leveraging the 400-mu Yong'an Lake Ecological Green Heart, the high-quality water resources of the Jinjiang River, and the lush ecological foundation, it is building a Bio-town Central Forest Park, where the city is built in the forest and laboratories in the garden, achieving a vision of "a lifestyle where one can 'gaze upon fields as they step outside and behold greenery as they look out the window." As of now, over 300 projects have settled here with a total investment exceeding 120 billion yuan, employing more than 16,000 professionals. Six enterprises have successfully gone public, and 113 functional platforms have been introduced, constructing an international biomedical industry ecosystem that is global in reach, service, and integration.
Chengdu Future Science and Technology City - With a planned area of 60.4 square kilometers, it is led by Chengdu High-tech Zone for development and construction. Located on the main axis of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle and adjacent to Tianfu International Airport, it serves as the gateway for Chengdu's international aviation hub. As an important carrier for the construction of the "One Core, Four Parks" of the Western (Chengdu) Science City, it focuses on the core functions of "an internationally leading applied science center" and "a national future advanced manufacturing base." Following a three-tier system of "leading industries - key areas - niche segments," it prioritizes aerospace, consumer electronics, AI robots, precision instrument manufacturing, and future industries. It focuses on niche segments such as satellite internet and satellite applications, industrial drones, aircraft engines, and in-vehicle intelligent systems to accelerate the construction of a "5+N" industrial ecosystem, driving high-quality regional development.
(II) Paired and Linked-up Areas
Coordinated and Linked-up Zones – With a planned area of 23.18 square kilometers, these zones aim to implement the municipal party committee and government's decisions and deployments to accelerate the paired collaboration and joint innovation among zones (towns, counties) and establish paired and linked-up cooperation zones, thereby promoting the integrated urban-rural development of megacities. Chengdu High-tech Zone has established partnerships with Dujiangyan City and Dayi County, respectively.
Collaboration with Dujiangyan – Covering a planned area of 11.03 square kilometers, this partnership focuses on jointly developing the Qingcheng Mountain Branch of Tianfu Software Park. Centering on the World Heritage cultural tourism axis of "Dujiangyan Scenic Area - Panda Valley - Yutang Kiln - Mangcheng Ruins - Qingcheng Mountain Scenic Area," it aims to build a digital creative industrial park specializing in digital cultural creativity and headquarters economy, constructing a "two parks, three centers" industrial support system.
Collaboration with Dayi – With a planned area of 12.15 square kilometers, this partnership focuses on jointly developing the Chengdu High-tech West Lake Science and Technology Park, located in Shaqu Sub-district, Dayi County. Bordering Chongzhou to the north, Shuangliu to the east, and Xinjin to the south, the park prioritizes the development of advantageous industries such as electronic information manufacturing, green food, cultural and creative tourism industries. Leveraging the high-quality ecological foundation of West River and West Lake, it aims to create a uniquely charming "waterside garden-style" science and technology park.
II. Leading Industries
Chengdu High-tech Zone centers on three leading industries: electronic information, biomedicine, and digital economy. It adheres to the concept of strengthening industrial circle and chains to transform industrial development methods. The zone prioritizes the development of 15 key industrial chains, including integrated circuits, new display, innovative pharmaceuticals, high-performance medical devices, high-end software, artificial intelligence, finance, modern commerce and trade, aerospace, and the metaverse.
To achieve this, Chengdu High-tech Zone has clearly stated that starting from 2022, it will launch a total of 300 billion yuan in industrial funds over five years to broadly solicit "partners" for industrial development. In 2023, the zone established 30 industrial funds with a total scale of 73.8 billion yuan. The scale of angel funds and technology credit products exceeded the "double 10 billion" mark, and the angel fund of mother fund ranked among the top three in China for the first time. Chengdu High-tech Zone strives to become one of the regions with the highest density of industrial capital.
In 2023, the scale of market entities in Chengdu High-tech Zone experienced rapid growth, with the cumulative number of market entities reaching 362,800, marking a year-on-year increase of 10.77%. Among them, there were 225,200 enterprises, representing a year-on-year growth of 10.94%. Seven new enterprises were listed (or approved for listing). The local leading enterprise Tongwei Group ranked among the world's top 500 companies.
The number of recognized high-tech enterprises reached 4,781, attracting over 800,000 talents of various kinds. More than 100,000 technology enterprises were founded by talents of various types. The zone boasts 215 schools of various levels and five colleges and universities, as well as two national key laboratories and 33 academician workstations.
(I) Electronic Information Industry
The electronic information industry provides robust support. In 2023, electronic information industrial enterprises above the designated size cumulatively achieved an output value of 329.89 billion yuan, laying a solid foundation for stabilizing the industrial economic base of the entire zone. Projects such as BOE's 8.6th-generation AMOLED production line with a total investment of 63 billion yuan and Chengdu VISTAR's TFT-based Micro-LED production line with a total investment of 3 billion yuan were introduced.
The scale and level of the integrated circuit industry rank first in central and western China. Leading technology-based enterprises such as Chengdu VISTAR have been cultivated. Special parks such as the Microwave Radio Frequency Industrial Park have been planned, and pilot platforms such as advanced packaging and testing have been established. Future industries such as Micro-LED have been strategically planned, with technological innovation leading the construction of a modern industrial system.
(II) Biomedicine Industry
The biomedicine industry has accelerated its growth. In 2023, the scale of the biomedicine industry exceeded 140 billion yuan. It boasts the country's first pilot demonstration base for the transfer and transformation of significant scientific and technological achievements in the national major special project for innovative drug development, the country's first demonstration platform for the transfer and transformation of health science and technology achievements, the country's only national precision medicine industry innovation center, the first demonstration base for the inspection and evaluation of domestically produced equipment and instruments in southwest China, and the only national foreign trade transformation and upgrading base for the biomedicine industry approved by the Ministry of Commerce in the province. It has attracted over 3,000 enterprises, including Sanofi, Allergan, Brilliant, Rongsheng, Di'ao, Maccura Biotech, Medtronic, and HitGen, initially forming key industrial clusters such as innovative drugs and high-end medical devices.
(III) Digital Economy Industry
The digital economy has seen a simultaneous increase in both quantity and quality. Profit-making service industries with digital economy attributes above the designated size achieved an operating revenue of 175.72 billion yuan, up 19.1% year-on-year. Newly introduced projects include Meituan's southwest headquarters with a total investment of 6 billion yuan and Lalamove's intelligent product research and development center with a total investment of 3.3 billion yuan.
Additionally, the finance and commerce industries have developed in clusters. With Jiaozi Financial Business District as the core carrier, the construction of a financial technology innovation ecosystem has been accelerated, cultivating and introducing 102 financial technology enterprises; major commercial projects such as SKP have been completed and opened, covering 1,300 global first-tier brands and 222 first-store brands, with a coverage rate of 98% for first-tier brands.
III. Social Services
Chengdu High-tech Zone governs seven sub-districts, namely Xiaojiahe, Fangcao Street, Shiyang, Guixi, Hezuo, Zhonghe, and Xiyuan. As of March 2024, there are 69 communities in the zone, with 7 integrated community elderly care services centers.
The zone has completed and opened 439 kilometers of greenways, eight comprehensive parks, eight specialized parks, and 146 small gardens and micro-green spaces. Eight park communities, including Jiaozi Park Community and Qilong Bay, as well as five key demonstration street areas such as Jiaozi Avenue and Tiexiang Temple Water Street, have been developed to a high standard.
It has been selected as a national pilot district for high-quality and balanced compulsory education. As of the end of 2023, there are 63 primary and secondary schools and 148 kindergartens in the zone. There are 1,160 medical institutions, including 35 hospitals. The coverage rate of grassroots public cultural facilities is 100%, with over 6,000 cultural and sports activities held annually.
IV. Business Environment Development
Optimizing the business environment has been designated as the "No,1 Project," with Chengdu High-tech Zone taking the lead in compiling and publishing a business environment index, placing it among the top-performing national high-tech zones in terms of the overall business environment. In 2022, Chengdu High-tech Zone designated it as the Year of Business Environment Development, implementing ten key plans to optimize the business environment. The following year, 2023, was designated as the Year of Enhancing the Quality of the Business Environment, with six major ecological improvement initiatives implemented. Innovations such as the "One Code for All Services" and the "Commence Construction Upon Land Acquisition" mechanism were introduced. Optimized the direct and rapid access to, as well as the enjoyment without application of, preferential policies for enterprises, and facilitated the enjoyment of the additional deduction for research and development (R&D) expenses; established a mechanism for publishing a "list of urban opportunities", and developed an online service platform called "TalentPass".
In 2024, Chengdu High-tech Zone is following the work plan of the "Year of Comprehensive Service Enhancement" to create a digital business environment demonstration. Leveraging the "One-Stop Online Government Services" platform, the zone aims to enhance the intelligent service level of administrative approvals. Building on the "One-Stop Online Enjoyment" platform, it will develop a comprehensive service hub for the entire lifecycle of enterprises. With the "One-Click Response" system, it will upgrade its efficient response service for enterprise demands.
V. Development Goals
2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and is a crucial year for achieving the goals and tasks outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan. Chengdu High-tech Zone will firmly adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, comprehensively implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and thoroughly carry out the series of important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the work in Sichuan. The zone will actively identify goals, clarify responsibilities, and strengthen commitments in serving the overall national strategy and the provincial and municipal development picture. It will resolutely focus on the central work deployments of the municipal party committee and government, as well as the important requirements of "Five Leading Demonstrations." Chengdu High-tech Zone will take the lead, stay ahead, set an example, and strengthen its influence. It will accelerate the development of new quality productive forces and promote high-quality development to establish a center for industrial technological innovation.
