China’s tech hub Shenzhen to invest US$108 billion in R&D over 5 years
- Money will be used to support innovation in core technologies, city’s Communist Party chief Wang Weizhong says
- AI, 6G, quantum technology, driverless vehicles and intelligent networks will be the focus of investment plans, he says
Shenzhen is set to invest more than 700 billion yuan (US$108 billion) in hi-tech research and development over the next five years as it seeks to reinforce its position as China’s innovation powerhouse.
Speaking at the city’s annual party congress at the end of last month, Shenzhen’s Communist Party chief Wang Weizhong said that over the 2021-25 plan period, 5 per cent of GDP would be allocated to investment in R&D to support innovation and breakthroughs in core technologies.
The city reported a gross domestic product of 2.8 trillion yuan in 2020, but the government has set a target to increase that to 4 trillion yuan by 2025.
Local media reports quoted Wang as saying that artificial intelligence, 6G, quantum technology, driverless vehicles, intelligent networks and other “frontier areas” would be the focus of Shenzhen’s investment plans, while the value of its digital economy would account for more than 31 per cent of GDP by 2025.
Investment in basic research and applied basic research would be not less than 30 per cent of the total R&D funding for science and technology, he said.