Lingang Special Area issues its "1+4" industrial policy two months after launch

The Lingang Special Area lies in the south-east corner of Shanghai, at the junction of the Yangtze estuary and Hangzhou Bay, 75 kilometres from the city centre. Pudong International Airport lies to its north and the Yangshan deep-water port to its south. It is an important node on Shanghai's coastal corridor and the immediate hinterland of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and is planned in five areas.

On 20 August the Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone was formally inaugurated. 20 October marks two months since the unveiling. On this new ground policy has gone first, giving a powerful guarantee of the area's rapid development.

At the end of August the Several Opinions on Implementing Special Support Policies to Promote the High-Quality Development of the Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone were formally published, containing fifty specific measures on talent, taxation, housing, land planning, industrial clustering, transport networks and comprehensive urban services. Support on that scale drew wide attention in the market, the response was enthusiastic, and a good start has been made.

On 18 October, as the two-month mark approached, the Lingang administrative committee issued several policies to promote industrial development together with supporting measures to concentrate the development of four key industries, namely integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and aerospace, known as the "1+4" industrial policy. The policy works both across the board and in depth: the support is substantial and wide-ranging, and in the vertical dimension it is precisely focused.

The "1" is the set of policies to promote industrial development in the Lingang Special Area, covering support for advanced manufacturing, strategic emerging industries and the integration of science and technology with industry.

The "4" are the measures for concentrating the development of integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and aerospace.

Integrated circuits:

Support for units and projects in integrated circuit design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, and equipment, materials and electronic design automation; and encouragement for leading and backbone integrated circuit enterprises to integrate vertically along the industrial chain.

Artificial intelligence:

Promotion of deep integration between artificial intelligence technology and high-end equipment manufacturing and strategic emerging industries; and attraction of the latest achievements in artificial intelligence worldwide to be tried first in the Lingang Special Area.

Biomedicine:

A focus on biotechnological drugs, precision medicine and high-end medical devices, arranged around a high-end "research and development plus manufacturing plus services" model.

Aerospace:

With large passenger aircraft and civil aero engines at the centre, a focus on research and development in frontier technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles and micro-satellites.

For the four priority industries of integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and aerospace, the Lingang Special Area has issued targeted supporting policies, forty measures in all, ten for each industry.

For major projects in strategic emerging industries such as next-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, intelligent connected vehicles, new materials, new energy and energy conservation and environmental protection, and in support of major projects approved by the state and by Shanghai and of specific capital contributions, there are sixteen core measures.

The "1+4" industrial policy published on this occasion contains fifty-six measures in all, intended to strengthen the capacity for scientific and technological innovation and industrial integration, to raise the level of industry across the region, and to build a world-class cluster of frontier industries breaking through at the level of key core technologies, so as to speed the creation of an open industrial system internationally competitive in the market.