Many industrial parks emphasize in their promotional materials that they are “building a comprehensive industrial ecosystem” and “empowering tenant companies for rapid growth,” but very few have actually succeeded in creating such an ecosystem. Most parks are still feeling their way forward, or have not even begun the journey.

In this episode of "Chuanjian," we visit Guangdong Medical Valley. Using the "development of a biopharmaceutical industry ecosystem" as a case study, we’ll discuss investment promotion and operations in industrial parks, as well as the construction and upgrading of industrial ecosystems.

Chen Piaopiao, General Manager of GuChuan United Guangzhou

Xie Jiasheng, Executive President of Guangdong Medical Valley and Standing Committee Member of the Guangzhou Nansha District CPPCC

Building a Biopharmaceutical Industry Ecosystem

How Can Parks and Enterprises Work Together?

"Chuanjian" Issue 2

Now Officially Available Across All Platforms

Key Topics of This Issue

What Is the Difference Between an Industrial Ecosystem and an Industrial Platform?

How to Organize Truly Effective Industry Networking Events?

How can we effectively attract and serve foreign-invested enterprises?

Beyond offering financial incentives, what other ways are there to attract talent?

What are the avenues for addressing corporate financing challenges?

How can digitalization improve the operational efficiency of industrial parks?

Today, “building an industrial ecosystem” has become an industry consensus.

Currently, the preferential policies offered by various regions are largely similar, and competition for investment attraction increasingly hinges on the quality and efficiency of services provided to businesses. But what kind of services can truly foster an “industrial ecosystem” rather than letting the phrase remain an empty slogan?

First, we must clarify the basic concept of an industrial ecosystem.

An industrial ecosystem differs from an industrial platform. In the traditional platform model, the industrial park holds a dominant position, with all resources and services subject to its control. Consequently, at a certain stage, the park itself can become a bottleneck restricting enterprise development.

In contrast, under the industrial ecosystem model, all entities within the park operate independently. How should we understand this? Let me give an example… (Watch the latest episode of *Chuanjian* to unlock hidden content; this segment begins at 5:02)… It’s akin to a form of “decentralization.” As a result, the park will not become a bottleneck for enterprise development, and the entire industrial ecosystem will possess enduring vitality.

From this perspective, we can see that some efforts made by industrial parks to build an “industrial ecosystem” may actually hinder enterprise development—or, more accurately, hinder the formation of a genuine “industrial ecosystem.”

For example, when organizing regular industry exchange events, are these based on the genuine needs of enterprises, or on the park’s own “assumptions” about those needs? Have they conducted thorough on-site visits to all enterprises within the park beforehand to understand their actual requirements?

Furthermore, if it turns out that the industry exchanges enterprises truly need require reaching out to top companies or research institutions across provinces or even across borders, have they gone to great lengths to secure resources and connections to facilitate these partnerships for the enterprises? Have they considered the broader picture of regional economic development and calculated the “big-picture costs”?

In this regard, Guangdong Medical Valley’s approach is highly advanced.

We have observed that Guangdong Medical Valley established the International Medical Industry Innovation Center as early as 2016. By forging close ties with Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, it has continuously attracted outstanding overseas teams to settle in the park, facilitating the commercialization of research outcomes. The introduction of high-caliber research teams has elevated the level of industry exchange, naturally driving improvements in the research capabilities and innovation standards of domestic biopharmaceutical enterprises.

As an industrial investment promotion service provider, Guichuan United also possesses extensive experience in engaging with foreign-invested enterprises. We assist local governments in attracting international giants to invest and establish factories in China, indirectly facilitating the cross-border exchange of advanced technologies and management philosophies.

As Chen Piaopiao, General Manager of Guichuan Lianxing’s Guangzhou office, noted, through Guichuan Lianxing’s localized service teams, foreign-invested enterprises can more quickly grasp the domestic industrial landscape, identify the most suitable investment regions, and rapidly connect with industrial parks.

Site selection work that would take a company one or two years to complete on its own can now be accomplished in as little as a few months.

As a knowledge-intensive and talent-intensive industry, the biopharmaceutical sector has a high demand for high-end talent, particularly top-tier research and development professionals. The growing emphasis on R&D during investment promotion efforts across various regions in recent years also indirectly highlights our talent challenges.

How can we attract high-end talent?

Many regions have invested substantial funds in relocation incentives and individual income tax rebates... As industrial parks, we should also leverage our unique industrial strengths to extend local talent policies and further enhance our appeal to professionals in specialized fields.

Previously, the Gu-Chuan Alliance helped Guangdong Medical Valley attract Weimou Medical, a surgical robotics company. When selecting a location, the company specifically valued the park’s collaborative… (Watch the latest episode of *Chuanjian* to unlock hidden content; this segment begins at 19:56)……which demonstrates a differentiated advantage in attracting specialized talent.

In fact, when selecting a location, companies often prioritize financing support over talent policies.

As Xie Jiasheng, Executive President of Guangdong Medical Valley, noted, resolving a company’s funding issues is the “1” among all services; once this “1” is addressed, other services simply add “0s” to it. This is particularly true for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the R&D phase, which face difficulties securing bank loans and encounter numerous obstacles when pursuing an IPO.

Government industrial guidance funds are a relatively suitable channel, but the application and approval processes can be quite lengthy.

Regarding financing support, he shared several practical insights:

First, each park should be equipped with a dedicated fund to serve its enterprises. On one hand, this effectively addresses short-term funding needs; on the other, it serves as a form of endorsement, helping to build trust with external investment institutions.

Second, regularly host park open days, inviting external financial institutions to attend biopharmaceutical project roadshows, thereby creating targeted matchmaking opportunities for park enterprises and investors.

Third, intellectual property financing products from various banks are consolidated and made available to park enterprises.

It is reported that in recent years, enterprises in the Nansha Phase I of Guangdong Medical Valley have secured over 6 billion yuan in venture capital, effectively bridging the gap between companies and investors.

That said, from technical exchanges to talent policies and financing support, many parks have certainly considered these approaches. However, how to turn these ideas into reality and effectively manage investment promotion and operational work remains a major challenge for many parks.

As the number of enterprises in the park continues to grow, relying solely on simple face-to-face interactions is no longer sufficient to meet service demands.

Should they further subdivide into grids and clarify responsibilities? Or should they develop online service platforms and try to solve problems with technology? The discussion between Chen Piaopiao and Xie Jiasheng on the digitalization of industrial park operations and management can offer valuable insights to many industrial parks.

This represents the practical experience accumulated over many years by these two distinguished guests, and it offers a set of operational methodologies that industrial parks can directly adopt.

Founded in 2014, Guangdong Medical Valley is a pioneer in the biopharmaceutical industry ecosystem. It has established industrial parks in Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, and other locations, and was honored as one of the “Top 10 Outstanding Industrial Parks in China” in 2021, ranking among the nation’s leaders in overall strength.

In 2019, GuChuan United Partners partnered with Guangdong Medical Valley, subsequently introducing several high-quality enterprises spanning fields such as surgical robotics, human stem cell technology, artificial intelligence, and traditional Chinese herbal medicine.