Original Title: Notice from the Kunshan Municipal Government Office on the Issuance of the Kunshan Three-Year Action Plan for Science and Technology Investment Promotion (2024–2026)
To thoroughly study and implement the important speeches of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the spirit of the National Two Sessions, and in accordance with the guiding principles of the “Suzhou Three-Year Action Plan for Science and Technology Investment Promotion (2024–2026)” and the “Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the City-wide Science and Technology Investment Promotion Work,” this Action Plan is formulated to further improve the city’s science and technology investment promotion system, enhance the quality of such work, and strengthen the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, taking into account the actual conditions of our city.
I. General Requirements
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and centered on the “2+6+X” emerging industry layout and the “4-1050” framework,we will continuously strengthen the role of science and technology investment promotion as a powerful engine for driving technological innovation, optimizing industrial structures, and charting future directions. We will focus on building a more precise and efficient science and technology investment promotion mechanism, fostering a more attractive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, accelerating the aggregation of high-quality global science and technology resources, and developing new-quality productive forces in a manner suited to local conditions, thereby providing strong support for our city’s efforts to build a county-level demonstration of Chinese-style modernization.
By 2026, we aim to establish a technology-based investment promotion system characterized by more efficient management models, a more professional investment promotion team, more flexible recruitment mechanisms, more precise enterprise services, and more robust incentive mechanisms. We will host over 100 innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, add more than 1,000 high-tech enterprises,over 3 million square meters of new science and technology innovation facilities, over 3,000 newly introduced technology-based investment projects, over 600 technology investment promotion events, and over 600 newly recruited leading talents in innovation and entrepreneurship.
II. Key Tasks
(1) Target Key Recruitment Directions to Expand and Enhance the Quality of Technology-Based Investment Promotion
1. Attract and gather a cohort of high-level science and technology talent projects. Leveraging the platforms of the National Demonstration Base for Talent Attraction and Intelligence Introduction, the National Demonstration Base for Innovation Talent Cultivation, the Overseas High-Level Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base, and Duke Kunshan University, attract a cohort of “high-end, specialized, cutting-edge, and scarce” talent.Thoroughly implement top-tier talent policies such as the Kunshan “Leading Goose Talent” Program and the Duke Kunshan University Distinguished Scholars Program to specifically target and recruit “key individuals” including domestic and international academicians, academic leaders, and leading technology entrepreneurs.Fully leverage the supporting role of local mass entrepreneurship and innovation talent programs. By establishing startup incubation initiatives and projects for non-resident talent, we will fully empower technology-based investment promotion efforts and intensify the recruitment of technology talent projects. By 2026, we aim to add 10 new top-tier talent (teams) and 600 projects under various levels of mass entrepreneurship and innovation talent programs.
2. Accelerate the attraction and cultivation of a cohort of high-level technology-driven industrial projects. Focus on “filling gaps, strengthening, consolidating, and extending” industrial chains to precisely attract technology-driven industrial projects with high industrial compatibility, strong innovation capabilities, and promising development prospects. Focus on breakthroughs in key industrial chain technologies, support leading enterprises in spearheading the formation of innovation consortia, and enhance the industry’s core competitiveness.Implement the Three-Year Action Plan for High-Tech Enterprises to continuously expand the tech enterprise ecosystem, with high-tech enterprises as the mainstay and “Specialized, Refined, Unique, and Innovative” (SRUI) enterprises, gazelle enterprises, and “unicorn” cultivation enterprises serving as benchmarks. By 2026, the city will have added 30 new innovation consortia and over 1,000 high-tech enterprises.
3. Concentrate efforts on building a group of high-level innovation platform projects. Harness the clustering effects of major innovation platforms such as the Deep-Time Digital Earth International Grand Science Project and the National Supercomputing Center to attract a cohort of innovative enterprises. Accelerate the construction of the Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence Public Computing Power Open Innovation Platform, and support the Provincial Future Membrane Technology Innovation Center in its bid to become a national-level innovation platform, using high-quality public services to expedite the implementation of technology-based investment projects.Fully leverage the role of collaborative innovation platforms such as the Peking University Kunshan Proof-of-Concept Center, the Xi’an Jiaotong University Kunshan Innovation Center, and the Xiamen University Kunshan Innovation Center to facilitate the transfer and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements in Kunshan. By 2026, five new collaborative innovation platforms will be established, achieving a breakthrough in securing major platforms such as National Technology Innovation Centers and Provincial Key Laboratories.
(2) Implement the Partner Collaboration Plan to Establish Diversified Models for Technology-Based Investment Promotion
1. Conduct systematic industrial analysis and assessment. Target key links, priority areas, gaps, weak points, and future growth drivers closely related to leading industries such as next-generation information technology and high-end equipment manufacturing. Continuously update recruitment lists for technology enterprises in critical segments across the upstream, midstream, and downstream of industrial chains, and conduct targeted recruitment of key enterprises based on these lists.Focusing on key competitive industrial chains such as the metaverse and artificial intelligence, low-altitude economy, and medical aesthetics and medical devices, we will organize research and analysis on industrial development trends, cutting-edge technological innovations, and disruptive technologies, while strengthening research and strategic positioning in new fields and emerging sectors. Aligned with the city’s industrial positioning, we will support districts and towns in leveraging their own strengths to target specific industrial segments and investment priorities, fostering a differentiated approach to technology-driven investment promotion across the city.By 2026, complete the compilation of investment attraction roadmaps for 10 key competitive industrial chains.
2. Establish a Global Technology Investment Promotion Network. Strengthen “bridgeheads” for technology investment promotion by supporting the Industrial Research Institute and various districts and towns in establishing overseas offshore innovation centers in Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and “Belt and Road” countries to accelerate the introduction of overseas projects. Optimize “liaison stations” for technology investment promotion by conducting promotional activities in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xi’an, and other locations, continuously expanding the coverage of these stations and enhancing the effectiveness of resource matching.Expand the “network” for technology investment promotion by recruiting a group of domestic and international investment and financing institutions, overseas community organizations, alumni associations, and technology-based platforms to serve as partners for talent and intelligence recruitment, thereby strengthening the inflow of innovation resources. By 2026, five new overseas offshore innovation centers will be established, and over 100 partner organizations for talent and intelligence recruitment will be introduced.
3. Create branded technology investment promotion events. Strengthen talent attraction through events by combining “going out” with “bringing in.” We will continue to successfully organize flagship events such as Kunshan Entrepreneurship Week, Tsinghua University’s “Kunshan Week,” and the Zu Chongzhi R&D Initiative’s “Gathering of Talents from 100 Universities,” thereby creating a powerful magnet for technology investment.Strengthen talent attraction through competitions by successfully organizing innovation and entrepreneurship contests such as the Zu Chongzhi Cup, Xiajiahe Cup, and Zhihui Yangcheng Lake, and actively participating in the “Win in Suzhou, Create a Winning Future” Global Technology Entrepreneurship Competition, using competitions as a means of evaluation to attract and gather talent.Strengthen talent attraction through funds. Efficiently operate Phase II of the Kunshan Angel Investment Fund, establish a linkage mechanism with social financial capital, and leverage “investment-driven attraction” and “recruitment-driven investment” to identify and catalyze project recruitment. By 2026, organize over 100 innovation and entrepreneurship competitions and facilitate connections with over 1,000 outstanding projects from these competitions.
4. Establish distinctive platforms for investment promotion. Focus on building distinctive brands by accelerating the development of high-quality specialized parks such as the Metaverse Industrial Park and the Advanced Computing Industrial Park, thereby forming a targeted investment attraction model of “one park, one industry.”We will focus on building professional brands by fully leveraging the resource advantages of high-quality innovation and technology platforms such as Iridium Factory, Dandelion, and Zizhu Maidu to attract a batch of technology-driven investment projects. We will focus on building benchmark brands by selecting and cultivating a group of benchmark technology enterprise incubators that are industry-focused, possess outstanding professional capabilities, and demonstrate significant exemplary effects, and we will meticulously create a series of model incubators.We will efficiently manage the citywide heat map of science and technology innovation hubs, tracking in real time the industrial positioning, capacity, and incubation capabilities of these facilities to strengthen the spatial support for project incubation. By 2026, we aim to add over 3 million square meters of new science and technology innovation space and establish more than 50 specialized innovation parks.
(3) Optimize the Technology Investment Promotion System and Strengthen the Foundation for Technology Investment Promotion Work
1. Establish an efficient and effective working system. Adhere to a city-wide “coordinated approach” for technology investment promotion, clarify annual targets and tasks, and accelerate the formation of a working framework characterized by municipal-level coordination, top-down and bottom-up collaboration, multi-stakeholder participation, and win-win cooperation.Establish a database of major projects and submit difficult issues encountered during the attraction process of key projects to the leading group meetings for discussion and resolution. Establish a project tracking and service database, clearly assign follow-up departments for projects signed at events and award-winning projects from competitions, and implement a closed-loop tracking and follow-up system to fully ensure the successful implementation of projects.
2. Improve the management mechanism for overall coordination. Refine the “2+4+5” technology investment promotion system and accelerate the formation of an international, professional, and market-oriented team that “understands technology, industry, and enterprises.” Select a group of corporate experts, technical experts, and investment and financing experts to form a technology investment promotion expert think tank to accurately assess a project’s technological advancement, technical maturity, and industrialization prospects.Establish a collaborative mechanism for technology-based investment promotion, encouraging the Industrial Research Institute to establish flexible and diverse implementation mechanisms with districts and towns through approaches such as resource introduction, “resource introduction + co-built space,” and “resource introduction + co-built space + joint funds.”
3. Build rapid and precise professional services. Efficiently operate the cloud platform for full-lifecycle management of technology investment promotion, track project progress in real time, dynamically monitor corporate needs regarding technology and investment, and provide comprehensive support for project growth.We will continue to enhance the “Kun Ruyi” business service brand, optimize one-stop services for talent housing, children’s education, and healthcare, and develop a series of high-quality talent demonstration communities and talent apartments to create a premier destination for innovation and entrepreneurship that attracts both local and distant talent. We will establish a regular training mechanism for technology investment promotion specialists, conducting specialized training sessions such as industry seminars, practical workshops, and on-site research on a regular basis to enhance the practical capabilities of the city’s technology investment promotion team.
III. Support Measures
(1) Strengthen Organizational Leadership. Fully leverage the role of the Municipal Science and Technology Investment Promotion Leading Group to study and deploy key annual tasks and major initiatives, ensuring organizational coordination. Establish a system of monthly work meetings, quarterly progress briefings, and semi-annual summary sessions to promptly report on the progress of science and technology investment promotion efforts.
(2) Strengthen Policy Support. Fully leverage the synergistic effects of policies targeting leading talent, innovation and entrepreneurship talent, and social talent recruitment. Utilize a “pre-evaluation before residency” mechanism to secure high-quality technology investment projects in advance. Promote a mechanism linking innovation and entrepreneurship talent with competitions, as well as an incubation mechanism coordinated with districts and towns, to establish a talent policy system that is more open, convenient, and robust.
(3) Strengthen Performance Evaluation and Incentives. Increase the weight of technology-based investment promotion in the comprehensive evaluation of high-quality development. Research and introduce evaluation standards for technology-based investment projects to effectively promote both the quantity and quality of such projects. Extensively publicize advanced experiences and innovative practices in technology-based investment promotion to foster a positive work atmosphere that encourages striving for excellence and advancement.
