Better links with Yangtze Delta neighbors

Shanghai plans to strengthen cooperation with other Yangtze River Delta cities on research, talent and innovation to achieve its long-term ambition to become a global tech center.

The city’s political advisers yesterday called for a regional scientific research network, covering Shanghai and neighboring cities, to be established to let scientists easily share research results and intercultural property to boost technology innovation.

Meanwhile, a special talent subsidy and apartments with reasonable prices should be offered in Shanghai to attract more highly skilled professionals, said Zhang Xue, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

It’s a key step for Shanghai to transform academic results to industrial applications or products, where the city is lagging behind Shenzhen and neighboring cities, said Zeng Fanyi, a genetics scientist of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Shanghai should launch special policies to encourage industrial transformation and attract more private investment in high-tech sectors, said Zeng.

Other members of the Shanghai Committee of the CPPCC said a meeting that a technology fund covering the Yangtze River Delta region should be set up to encourage cross-province investment and research cooperation projects.

The possibilities of cooperation on harbor construction, public services, transportation and environment protection in the Yangtze River Delta region were also discussed.