Shanghai’s Jiading District is accelerating innovation in key industries

Jiading District, one of Shanghai’s developing peripheries, is gearing up to support the development of the city’s core industries such as integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence as innovation advances in the automotive and biomedical sectors, the district government said.

Jiading County Deputy Governor Zhu Xiaojie announced during the briefing that Jiading is actively supporting its key industries, setting a target for the three leading sectors to achieve a combined output of 450 billion yuan ($62.2 billion) by the end of the 14th plan period five-year period (2021-2025). Highlighting the district’s future development plans, Zhu stressed the importance of modernizing the automotive industry and supporting coordinated innovation in the biomedical sector.

Located in the northwest of Shanghai, covering an area of ​​463 square kilometers, Jiading is strategically positioned to strengthen Shanghai’s economy and drive progress in cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.

With over 600 enterprises engaged in the modernization of the automotive sector, Jiading is part of the trend towards electrification, connectivity, shared mobility and intelligent vehicles. The Shanghai Automotive Chip Valley, operational since September 2023, is a testament to the district’s progress in automotive modernization.

Chip Valley is engaged in the research, development and production of smart vehicle chips and high-quality automotive-grade smart sensors. At its heart is the Shanghai Automotive IC Engineering Center, which aims to make China’s automotive chip supply chains more secure through domestically designed and manufactured chips.

Zhang Haitao, deputy manager of the center, outlined Chip Valley’s goals of promoting domestically produced chips through a comprehensive service platform covering testing, design and manufacturing processes.

In the field of biomedical innovation, Shanghai MedValley, launched in 2023, is a testament to Jiading’s continued commitment to the industry. Serving as an integrated industrial park housing research and development facilities, corporate headquarters and manufacturing units, MedValley is a hub of innovation.

The core functional area of ​​Shanghai MedValley includes the Ruijin Hospital National Medical Center and the Shanghai MedValley industrial park, while Innovation Island is home to the corporate headquarters park, university inspection area, manufacturing sectors and scientific research institutes.

Ge Xiaojing, general manager of the valley, highlighted the collaborative environment in the valley, where medical experts and industry professionals interact daily to spark innovative ideas. He highlighted the district’s potential to initiate innovative projects and stressed the importance of supporting inter-institutional connections through existing platforms to translate promising scientific research into tangible industrial applications.

“It can be said that Jiading District has the potential to drive innovation initiatives. Our current focus is on strengthening links between institutions through established platforms,” Ge said. “This allows us to ensure the effective implementation of valuable basic research results in the industrial sector.”

Gu Yingjie contributed to this story.