I. Development Foundation

In recent years, Suzhou has consistently prioritized innovation as the primary driver of development, guiding the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector, attracting global high-end resources, and fostering the growth of strategic emerging industries. For two consecutive years, the total industrial output value of enterprises above designated size has exceeded 4 trillion yuan, firmly placing the city among the national leaders. In 2022, total R&D investment as a percentage of GDP reached 4%.The biopharmaceutical sector was selected for the first batch of the National Strategic Emerging Industry Cluster Development Program; biopharmaceuticals and high-end medical devices, high-end textiles, and new nanomaterials were included in the National Advanced Manufacturing Clusters; and advanced materials were selected for the first batch of Provincial Strategic Emerging Industry Integration Cluster Development Demonstrations.Strategic emerging industries serve as the foundation for fostering future industries and exert a profound influence on the quality, structure, pace, and efficiency of future industrial development. Leveraging the agglomeration advantages and technological accumulation of strategic emerging industries, Suzhou has already established the capacity to seize the initiative in future industries. Proactively planning and cultivating future industries holds significant importance for our city in enhancing new competitive advantages, building a modern industrial system, and establishing the primary hub for an industrial science and technology innovation center with global influence.

II. General Requirements

(1) Guiding Principles.

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and fully carry out the important speeches and instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping regarding the work of Jiangsu and Suzhou. Focusing closely on the goal of building the main hub for an industrial science and technology innovation center with global influence, we will strive to strengthen scientific and technological innovation and enterprise cultivation, enhance regional collaboration and talent development, foster new industries through new technologies, and make every effort to build a high ground for future industry innovation. This will create a new pattern where strategic emerging industries and future industries are effectively integrated, mutually reinforcing, and developing in synergy.

(2) Basic Principles.

Systematic Planning and Coordinated Advancement. We will gain a deep understanding of the laws governing modern industrial development, coordinate the transformation of traditional industries, the expansion of strategic emerging industries, and the cultivation of future industries. We will promote synergy and deep integration across the entire industrial chain, as well as organic connectivity between the production and consumption ends. By leveraging key areas to drive broader progress—strengthening our strengths and addressing our weaknesses—we will achieve tiered industrial development and an overall leap forward.

Government Guidance, Market-Driven. Better leverage the government’s guiding role by strengthening support in industrial planning, policies, and services. Fully harness the decisive role of the market in resource allocation to stimulate the vitality of market entities. Promote the close integration of an effective market and an active government to optimize the industrial development environment.

Focus on Priorities, Innovation-Led. Building on Suzhou’s industrial foundation and innovation resources, we will remain committed to the real economy, identify key areas and critical links in future industries, accelerate the concentration of high-level innovation resources in these sectors, strengthen the role of enterprises as the main drivers of technological innovation, and achieve deep integration among innovation chains, industrial chains, capital chains, and talent chains.

Open Cooperation, Joint Construction and Sharing. Fully leverage Suzhou’s role as a key node in the global industrial chain, proactively expand opening-up and cooperation, deeply integrate into the global innovation network, facilitate the dual circulation of domestic and international markets, and actively facilitate and promote the industrialization of high-level research outcomes from regions such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as from overseas.

(3) Development Goals.

By 2030, we will achieve breakthroughs in a number of key core technologies that fill domestic gaps; future industries will be effectively integrated with strategic emerging industries and dominant industries; and the total output value of the city’s future industries will exceed 500 billion yuan.

— Continuously enhance technological innovation capabilities. Strengthen the linkage between technology and industry, cultivate more than 10 innovation platforms for future industries, and achieve a full-chain layout spanning “scientific discovery—technological invention—industrial application.”

— Continuously advancing integrated enterprise development. Attract and cultivate more than 20 leading enterprises in future industry chains, establish a number of innovation consortia, optimize collaborative innovation mechanisms among large, medium, and small enterprises, and achieve integrated development across all types of enterprises.

— Clustering in key sectors will be continuously optimized. We will improve the system for transforming future industry innovation outcomes, build more than 10 pilot parks for future industries, accelerate the commercialization of future industry technologies, and lay the groundwork for the formation of future industry innovation clusters.

— Continuously improve the open innovation ecosystem. Launch more than 100 core products, create more than 100 application scenarios, and build an industrial ecosystem characterized by mutual promotion and integrated development.

By 2035, we will have established 1–2 future industry innovation clusters with a scale of 100 billion yuan each that lead the nation, and the city’s total output value of future industries will exceed 1 trillion yuan.

III. Key Areas

Leveraging the scale advantages of our city’s four leading industries—electronic information, equipment manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, and advanced materials—and building on the development strengths of strategic emerging industries such as photonics, integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, new energy, innovative drugs, and nanomaterials, we will prioritize the development of future industries including cutting-edge new materials, photonic chips and optical devices, the metaverse, hydrogen energy, digital finance, cell and gene therapy, aerospace development, and quantum technology.

(1) Cutting-Edge New Materials.

We will accelerate the industrialization of cutting-edge new materials, including wide-bandgap semiconductor materials such as third-generation semiconductors, advanced structural materials for 3D printing and powder metallurgy, high-performance carbon fibers and composites, nanomaterials, and high-temperature superconducting materials.Conduct research on the preparation of single-crystal substrates and epitaxial materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), and promote the R&D and industrialization of key components such as wide-bandgap semiconductor power electronic devices and RF devices. Strengthen the construction of public instrumentation platforms for material synthesis and characterization, and plan major projects such as extreme-field nuclear magnetic resonance and medium-energy multi-particle accelerators.Support research institutions in leveraging materials big data to enhance materials genomics research capabilities and establish an innovative industrial system for cutting-edge new materials that integrates virtual and experimental approaches. Encourage various innovation entities to target downstream demands in aerospace, electronics and information technology, energy equipment, and life sciences, strengthen collaboration in areas such as material formulations, synthesis processes, and characterization methods, and accelerate technological breakthroughs across all stages from materials R&D and pilot production to mass production.

(2) Photonic Chips and Optical Devices.

Priority will be given to the development and manufacturing of photonic chips for applications in optical manufacturing, optical communications, optical sensing, optical medicine, and optical displays. These primarily include high-power semiconductor laser chips, high-speed optical communication chips, sensing and detection chips, biosensing chips, silicon photonics chips, LED chips, high-performance optoelectronic integrated chips, and photonic computing chips.Priority will be given to the development and manufacturing of optical components based on optical materials, primarily including high-precision optical lenses, as well as passive components such as high-speed optical modulators, optical switches, splitters, and thermo-optical devices utilizing optical integration technology, alongside active components such as light sources and detectors. Leveraging the Taihu Science City, we will establish the Taihu Photonics Center with high standards, accelerate the construction of foundational process platforms for compound semiconductors, silicon photonics integration, and MOEMS (Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems), and enhance the development of industrial infrastructure.

(3) Metaverse.

Support hardware and software enterprises in the fields of electronics, information technology, and artificial intelligence—as well as universities and research institutes—in conducting collaborative industrial innovation research. Focus on key industrial technologies such as brain-inspired intelligence, next-generation displays, virtual digital humans, immersive human-computer interaction, AR/VR, image rendering engines, intelligent algorithms, 3D visualization, and immersive audio-visual experiences that blend the virtual and real worlds.Prioritize the introduction and cultivation of leading enterprises in core software, smart chips, sensing devices, and brain-computer interfaces. Accelerate the development of key products such as near-eye displays, interactive terminals, digital tools, and system integration solutions to strengthen the innovative leadership of end-user products.Leverage the region’s unique resources, such as historic cityscapes and smart manufacturing, to create integrated solutions spanning vertical sectors including industry, commerce, cultural tourism, office spaces, education, and healthcare. Continuously deepen the application of the industrial metaverse, consumer metaverse, educational metaverse, medical metaverse, and governance metaverse across various scenarios.

(4) Hydrogen Energy.

Focus on achieving breakthroughs in key and challenging segments of the industrial chain, including low-cost, high-efficiency green hydrogen production; high-pressure gaseous and cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage and transportation; the construction and operation of hydrogen refueling stations; and high-power, long-life hydrogen fuel cell stacks and their core materials. Continue research on key hydrogen energy technologies such as water electrolysis, hydrogen embrittlement failure, and cryogenic adsorption; accelerate fuel cell technology innovation; develop key membrane materials and catalysts; and enhance the reliability, stability, and durability of hydrogen application scenarios.Support key R&D institutions in strengthening the industrialization of innovation outcomes and the development of industrial talent pipelines. Provide comprehensive services for the inspection, testing, and certification of hydrogen energy products; promote the operation of intellectual property rights in the hydrogen energy industry; and steadily advance diversified application demonstrations of hydrogen energy in sectors such as transportation, energy storage, and power generation.

(5) Digital Finance.

Accelerate the industrial application of digital technologies such as blockchain in the financial sector, with a focus on strengthening data security safeguards, promoting the digital transformation of finance, and serving the real economy. Leverage Suzhou’s first-mover advantage as a pilot for digital RMB to establish a management and R&D system for digital RMB.Deepen innovation pilot programs in the digital finance sector, provide scenario and data support for financial institutions’ digital finance innovations, and accelerate the pace of digital transformation for financial institutions. Cluster enterprises within the digital finance ecosystem around areas such as digital renminbi, fintech, digital credit reporting, financial big data, and financial manufacturing to cultivate and expand new growth points for the digital finance industry.

(6) Cell and Gene Therapy.

Focusing on new genomics technologies, next-generation gene sequencing, and gene and cell therapy, we will promote the integrated development of biotechnology and information technology. We will prioritize the development of specific segments such as high-throughput gene sequencing, synthetic genomes, and cell therapy, and foster the upstream and downstream industries for related innovative drugs and high-end medical devices. We will build scientific infrastructure in fields such as protein structure analysis and gene sequencing, strengthen research into core technologies, and stimulate the sources of industrial innovation.Support the clustering of enterprises involved in key raw materials, critical equipment, and consumables to create an innovation hub for the cell and gene therapy industry. Accelerate research on the ethics and legal frameworks related to cell and gene therapy, and strengthen the commercialization of innovative achievements and the promotion and application of products.

(7) Aerospace Development.

Conduct cutting-edge and applied basic research centered on major projects such as next-generation heavy-lift launch vehicles, manned spaceflight, deep-space exploration, domestically produced large aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Focus on breakthroughs in key aerospace technologies, actively introduce and cultivate innovative aerospace enterprises and R&D institutions—such as those specializing in commercial satellites and launch vehicles—and promote demonstration projects for aerospace development and application.Focusing on advanced remote sensing and aerospace information services, accelerate the construction of infrastructure such as satellite internet and its industrial applications. Establish high-level innovation platforms in the satellite internet sector, strengthen the R&D and manufacturing of key products such as low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and relay satellites, and develop micro-communication systems, satellite emergency communication systems, satellite application terminals, and satellite remote sensing applications to build a hub for the satellite internet industry.

(8) Quantum Technology.

Explore the industrialization of high-performance quantum computers, superconducting quantum chips, and quantum-electronic collaborative computing networks; establish a quantum computing cloud service platform; enhance graphical programming and quantum task management; promote quantum computing services; and build a comprehensive quantum computing industrial ecosystem.Focusing on key areas of quantum communication—such as high coding rates, high integration, ultra-long-distance secure transmission, and quantum fiber-to-fiber transmission—we will develop critical core equipment including quantum random number generators, quantum routers, and quantum switches. We will actively conduct experimental verification and explore commercialization solutions to promote the widespread application of quantum communication in sectors such as finance, government affairs, and energy.

IV. Spatial Layout

Adhering to the principles of city-wide coordination, differentiated planning, and collaborative development, each county-level city (district) will leverage its own strengths, based on regional resource endowments and industrial innovation foundations, to focus on key industrial priorities. Each year, based on technological advancements and actual conditions, dynamic assessments and optimization adjustments will be made to the key areas and spatial layout of future industries.

Spatial Layout of Suzhou’s Future Industries

V. Implementation Pathways

(1) “Strengthening Foundations Initiative” for Advantageous Industries.

Leveraging the strengths of existing leading industries and strategic emerging industries, we will make every effort to build a group of strategic emerging industry clusters and advanced manufacturing clusters with comprehensive capabilities that are internationally advanced and domestically leading. We will deepen the integration of advanced manufacturing and modern services, promote the extension of production-oriented services toward specialization and the high end of the value chain, accelerate the application of new technologies, products, and services, explore new pathways to support the integrated development of future industries, and build an innovative headquarters economy cluster led by high-end emerging services and future industries.Drive industrial development through scenario-based demonstrations by opening up a range of application scenarios for future industries. Use methods such as “open challenges” and public selection to attract high-quality enterprises to create benchmark application scenarios in fields including education, healthcare, transportation, and industrial and agricultural production.

(2) “Key Technology Breakthrough Initiative.”

Strengthen multi-path exploration and cross-disciplinary integration of cutting-edge and disruptive technologies, promote synergy between technology and industry, and implement a full-chain approach encompassing “scientific discovery—technological invention—industrial application.” This will foster a virtuous cycle where basic research drives breakthroughs in applied technology, technology leads industrial development, and industry propels technological innovation. Conduct industrial patent navigation analysis, establish specialized local databases for key industries, guide enterprises in strategic intellectual property planning, optimize pre-examination services for patent applications, accelerate patent review and authorization, and cultivate a portfolio of high-value patents(portfolios). Fully leverage the strong magnetic pull of the Suzhou Laboratory and the “One Zone, Two Centers” initiative; strengthen cooperation with top-tier universities and research institutions; establish a number of professional talent training bases; optimize university program offerings; and strengthen discipline development in future industry sectors. Deploy a network of overseas technology transfer and commercialization nodes, as well as international technology transfer and innovation cooperation centers.

(3) “Attraction and Cultivation Initiative” for Innovation Entities.

Leverage the leading role of major technology-driven enterprises and key research institutes to accelerate the creation of high-level national and provincial innovation platforms, and actively seek support from major national science and technology innovation programs. Encourage innovation- and entrepreneurship-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to pursue specialized, refined, and distinctive development. Harness their unique strengths in identifying technologies and assessing market application prospects, target high-value segments of industrial chains, continuously strengthen specialized collaboration and supporting capabilities, and consistently enhance innovation capacity in niche sectors.Establish public service platforms centered on key common industrial technologies, form innovation consortia, and promote the transfer and diffusion of technology within the industry. Optimize the collaborative innovation mechanism among large, medium, and small enterprises, streamline the innovation chain, shorten innovation cycles, and achieve integrated development across all types of enterprises.

(4) “Optimization Action” for Development Space.

Implement national strategies such as the Yangtze River Delta Integration and the Yangtze River Economic Belt; actively participate in the development of the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, the Shanghai-Nanjing Industrial Innovation Belt, and the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou-Nantong Science and Technology Innovation Circle; and explore the establishment of a cross-regional collaborative development system for future industries.Coordinate the city-wide layout of future industries, actively strive to establish a national-level pilot zone for future industries, and take the lead in exploring institutional innovation, technology commercialization, and demonstration applications. Guide various districts to formulate action plans focused on key areas, cultivate new directions for future industries based on their own industrial foundations, and leverage industrial parks, mass entrepreneurship and innovation bases, co-working spaces, and startup incubators to create core hubs for future industries. Focus on forming a future industry development landscape characterized by distinct features, rational division of labor, and complementary advantages.

(5) “Co-construction Initiative” with Ecological Partners.

We will deepen cooperation with Singapore, Japan, Germany, and across the Taiwan Strait, while advancing collaboration with the Netherlands and other partners to establish multi-level, multi-channel cooperation mechanisms with internationally advanced regions. We will encourage high-level domestic and international industry organizations to establish a presence here, support ecosystem-leading enterprises in participating in the formulation of future industry standards and specifications, and encourage local state-owned enterprises to engage with key central state-owned enterprises to accelerate the construction of a future industry ecosystem. We will leverage the impact of events such as the Advanced Technology Achievement Exchange Conference to create a series of specialized conferences and events with international influence.Strengthen regulatory guidance and strategic consulting to create forward-looking experimental spaces characterized by “creativity + niche focus + new governance.” Allow new industries, technologies, business models, and operational paradigms to innovate through trial and error within a “safe space.” Improve the innovation and entrepreneurship service system for future industries and optimize the industrial development ecosystem.

VI. Support Measures

(1) Strengthen Organizational Leadership.

Relying on the Municipal Leading Group for Promoting the Development of Industrial Innovation Clusters in the Digital Economy Era, establish and improve a municipal-level working mechanism for advancing future industries. Actively seek national and provincial resources, strengthen coordination between the municipal and district levels and collaboration among departments, clarify implementation measures, ensure the fulfillment of all tasks, coordinate regional planning and resource allocation, and resolve major cross-regional, cross-sectoral, and cross-departmental issues. Establish a Municipal Expert Advisory Committee on Future Industries to provide external expertise and support for the development of future industries across the city.

(2) Expand Policy Support.

Research and formulate support policies to drive the development of future industries. Increase support for breakthroughs in key core technologies, the construction of pilot parks, the development of application scenarios, and the implementation of key projects. Encourage various districts and sectors to introduce specialized policies supporting the development of future industries. Encourage pilot parks for future industries to innovate their institutional mechanisms, actively seek pilot reforms to delegate authority in review and approval systems, appropriately relax market access for future industry products or services, and conduct pilot trials within application scenarios.

(3) Innovate Financial Support.

Explore the establishment of an investment mechanism jointly supported by social capital and financial capital, build diversified financing platforms, and provide long-term, stable, and adequate funding sources for key areas of future industries. Leverage the role of government-guided funds to improve the science and technology innovation financing model covering the entire process from experimental research and pilot production to mass production. Support high-quality enterprises in future industries, such as unicorns, in making reasonable use of capital markets to conduct direct financing.

(4) Fostering a Development Environment.

Establish an “Eight-in-One” advancement model: designate a number of pilot zones; establish a number of future industry (technology) research institutes; cultivate a number of leading enterprises; create a number of innovation platforms; build a number of exhibition and demonstration centers; attract a number of key talents; sign a number of benchmark projects; and solicit a number of application scenarios. Guide various entities to actively participate in the city’s future industry development.We will foster a social atmosphere and innovation culture that encourages innovation and tolerates failure, accelerate the replication and promotion of demonstration projects, deepen science popularization education, and enhance the favorable development environment for future industries.