Innovation week spawns high-tech achievements

Capital sets national example for R&D, high-quality development

Beijing released 100 of its world-level cutting-edge technological achievements on Monday during the recently held 2018 National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week, which ran from Oct 9 to 15.

These included 3D-printed orthopedic implants, a microscopic imaging system for the human brain and techniques to build green public buildings.

Organizers said 10 industries were involved, including the intelligent equipment, medical health and integrated circuit sectors.

More than 60 percent of projects were from companies while others were from universities and scientific institutes, highlighting the capital's efforts to encourage innovation and promote commercialization of research achievements.

Ten contracts were signed for new projects on Monday too. These included the construction of an industrial park for high-end automobiles and new-energy vehicles' parts, and contracts for the intelligent production of pills, a second-generation gene sequencer, self-driving cars and intelligent robots.

Last year, research and development spending in Beijing was equivalent to 5.7 percent of its GDP, ranking the city number one nationwide. There were 94.6 patents in the capital per 10,000 people, a rate that was 9.6 times higher than the average level in the country, data from the city government showed.

Chen Gang, member of the Party Leadership Group of the China Association for Science and Technology, said at the innovation and entrepreneurship week's opening ceremony that Beijing had set a good example for the nation in encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.

He said the event this year showed the huge achievements the metropolis had made in promoting high-quality development, the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and in targeted poverty relief, among other things.

Chen added that it had also displayed its great achievements in "hard technology", the cultivation of high-grade, precision and advanced industries, and in giving the public access to the benefits of innovation.

This year's event highlighted "innovation and entrepreneurship at a high level" and "high-quality development".

More than 600 projects from over 300 companies were displayed at the main 18,000-square-meter exhibiting hall. Organizers said the average age of the companies was less than five years.

Exhibits were diverse: toy cars reportedly controlled by brain waves, wireless chargers that function 10 meters away from a phone, and robots able to perform micro surgery.

About 20 related forums, seminars and competitions were held, including a contest for 5G technology, an innovation and entrepreneurship contest for young people, a seminar on policies and a regional integrated innovation development seminar.

The city government released a plan last year to select 10 innovative and entrepreneurial companies to help small and micro companies to grow. The goal was to set up 100 workstations for young people, train 1,000 business mentors, and pave the way for 10,000 new entrepreneurs by the end of 2018.

To date, over 100 innovative workshops, 1,863 projects and about 2,450 young people have joined the plan, data from the government showed.