Yangtze River Delta region collaboration is improving and deepening

The collaborative innovation index for the Yangtze River Delta region has doubled over the last decade.

The index has increased from 100 in 2011 to 204.16 in 2019, showing that regional collaboration is improving and deepening, according to a report released during a meeting held between June 5 to 6.

The report was compiled by the Shanghai Institute for Science of Science and the provincial science and technology research institutes of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui.

There are five major evaluation criteria, according to the report.

The scores for source sharing have increased from 100 in 2011 to 219.41 in 2019, with an average annual increase of 10.32 percent. The region also performed well in innovation cooperation, with the scores increasing from 100 in 2011 to 217.51 in 2019.

Scores for results sharing, support for innovation and industry linkage reached 214.83, 188.9 and 180.18 in 2019.

According to the report, in 2018, the region’s R&D spending accounted for 2.81 percent of GDP. Of them, Shanghai spent most allocating 4.16 percent, followed by Jiangsu’s 2.7 percent, Zhejiang’s 2.57 percent and Anhui’s 2.16 percent.

By December 2018, the regional science and technology source sharing platform has welcomed 31,169 big science facilities, with a value of 36.23 billion yuan (US$5.12 billion).

The number of patent transfers in the region has increased from 694 in 2010 to 11,278 in 2018, thanks to the construction of innovation corridors such as G60 High Technology Corridor, according to the report. However, most transfers took place in the region’s east and south part.

Industries in Shanghai and the three provinces are different and complementary, according to the report.

Ningbo and Taizhou in Zhejiang’s auto parts manufacturing bases are developing in full swing, which greatly support Shanghai’s vehicle manufacturing industry. While Zhejiang’s capital Hangzhou is focusing on the digital economy, such as big data and Cloud computing.

According to the report, the region’s science and technology incubators were fostering 61,717 companies in 2018, up from 10,602 in 2010.

In 2018, the region earned more than 316 billion yuan of revenue from high technology industries, accounting for three out of a tenth of the country’s total. Back to 2010, it was just half of today’s revenues.