(Yicai) Jan. 24 -- Shanghai will further promote the development of its top three industries, namely integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence, according to the municipality’s mayor.

This year, Shanghai will continue to promote industrial innovation through scientific and technological innovation, actively boost new industrialization, facilitate the high-quality development of key supply chains, and go all out to roll out a new round of the Shanghai program for the IC, biomedicine, and AI industries, Gong Zheng said in a government work report presented at the annual meeting of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress yesterday.

The essence of Shanghai’s three leading industries is to tap into new markets through technological innovation, Pan Jing, a congress deputy and chairman of Shanghai-based medical robot maker Taimi Robotics Technology, told Yicai. Shanghai can systematically accelerate the growth of new industries through industrial policies implemented in advance, he noted, adding that there is still room for budgetary support to improve.

The eastern Chinese megacity’s research and development expenditure accounted for about 4.4 percent of its gross domestic product last year, with the figure expected to reach 4.5 percent this year, as innovation becomes more important, He Dajun, a congress deputy and general manager of Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development, told Yicai.

The Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, operated by Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development, has increased the core layout of Shanghai’s three leading industries and will promote the establishment of an innovation ecology this year, He noted.

The government work report proposed accelerating the set-up of a fund to guide scientific and technological innovation and attracting long-term capital to invest early in small enterprises and hardcore science and technology, He said, adding that Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development may also participate. The firm had earlier founded a related fund, which will invest more this year, he pointed out.

The development of the biomedicine industry goes hand in hand with innovation, especially for the cell therapy, gene therapy, and synthetic biology fields, which are present in Shanghai, Li Jizong, a congress deputy and director of the Shanghai Center of Biomedicine Development, told Yicai. It takes time for technological innovation to enter the industry, but when it does, the explosive growth is clear, he added.

Editor: Futura Costaglione