Hong Kong accelerate the construction of the International Science and Technology Innovation Center

"China Economic Weekly" reporter Zhang Yan

In Baishiko, Tai Po District, New Territories in Hong Kong, the places adjacent to the Baishijiao seaside promenade are located in a park with about 4 million square meters. In the large and small buildings in the park, more than 1,000 companies from 23 countries and regions are incubating and growing here. This is the Hong Kong Science Park, known as the Milestone of Hong Kong to the Innovation Science and Technology Center.

At the No. 32 Flower Road, Shenzhen Futian District, which is about 30 kilometers away, the Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch is hurrying to build and is planned to be completed and put into operation within the year. In the future, the "Greater Bay Area Chuangke Leaping College", "Greater Bay Area Chuangke Express" and "International Incubator" will be established. More scientific research projects and innovative companies from Hong Kong will settle in.

In recent years, with the advancement of the Guangdong -Hong Kong -Macao Grandmatic area, there are more and more technology companies that come out of the science and technology innovation cooperation zone such as Hong Kong Science Park. From "DJI drones" to "Yunzhou drones", from artificial intelligence represented by Shangtang Technology to biomedical companies such as R & D pharmaceuticals, diagnostic equipment, etc. "This coordinated development model of the technology industry has been widely copied. Under the guidance of innovation -driven development strategies, key elements such as capital, technology, talents, and information in the Guangdong -Hong Kong -Macao Greater Bay Area accelerate the circulation. A number of major scientific and technological innovation projects have continued to emerge, and technological innovation capabilities have continued to improve.

"The population of the Guangdong -Hong Kong -Macao Greater Bay Area is close to 80 million, and the GDP has reached 1700 billion US dollars, which is one of the most open and strongest areas of my country's opening up." In an interview with the reporter of China Economic Weekly, Huang Jinhui, executive director, said that the "Fourteenth Five -Year Plan" adopted by the country has clearly supported the construction of the International Innovation Science and Technology Center in Hong Kong. Hong Kong must seize this golden opportunity and actively integrate into the overall national development situation. , Strengthen cooperation with other cities in the Greater Bay Area, give full play to complementary advantages, contribute to the country's needs, and at the same time allow themselves to obtain a broader room for development.

On October 16, 2021, the "STEM-UP Hong Kong Innovation Science and Technology Competition" hosted by the Hong Kong Youth Police News was held in Hong Kong.

From 0 to 1 to N,

Greater Bay Area Science and Technology Industry Coordinated Development

Shangtang Technology, which was successfully listed in Hong Kong in December 2021, is the first listed technology company incubated by the Hong Kong Science Park and a model for the collaborative innovation of "Hong Kong+Mainland".

In 2014, Shangtang Technology, from the Multimedia Laboratory of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, took root in the Hong Kong Science Park. Here, the original scientific research results have begun to take shape, and soon take root in the diverse formats and rich scenes of the Mainland. Shang Hailong, general manager of Shangtang Technology Hong Kong Company, told reporters of "China Economic Weekly" that in the growth of Shangtang Technology, Hong Kong and the Mainland played a pivotal role.

"Shangtang Technology can have the current achievements, which is inseparable from the cultivation of the good innovation environment in Hong Kong. And the benign and flexible policy guidance of the Mainland, the vast market space and a large number of talents provide the opportunity to develop the rapid and steady development of Shangtang Technology "Shang Hailong introduced that Shangtang Technology also recruited talents from different fields from Hong Kong or Hong Kong universities every year, and developed rich scientific and technological achievements. The advantages of the mainland in the commercialization and commercialization of scientific research results provide a good market environment for the development of Shangtang Technology, so that scientific research results can quickly perceive market demand while landing and iteration. In addition, the strong support for the development of "digital transformation" and "digital economy" related to AI technology in the Mainland also provides excellent opportunities for Shangtang Technology's development.

"In the latest QS 2023 World University Rankings, there are 7 universities in Hong Kong, of which 5 universities are among the top 100 in the world. In addition, Hong Kong also has many national key laboratories, national engineering technology research centers and countless. Scientists, it can be said that in the process of basic creativity from 0 to 1, Hong Kong's scientific research advantages are obvious. But if you need to make up 1 to N commercialization and commercialization capabilities, use the scale of large -scale markets and innovation chains. This requires the help of mainland cities to help. "Huang Jinhui admitted that although Hong Kong has the strength of scientific research results in the front -end output, it lacks a platform for the development and transformation of intermediate technology and the application market for the continuous growth of the back end to support the industry. The technological innovation chain is incomplete, and the potential of high -quality scientific and technological resources has always been difficult to release.

Huang Jinhui believes that with the orderly advancement of the Guangdong -Hong Kong -Macao Greater Bay Area, it is expected to form the form of "Hong Kong Research, Bay Area Development, National Market, and International Finance" in the future. "International financing" played the director.

He said that the upstream of the Ecological Chain of Chuangke industry focuses on basic research and research and development innovation technology. In the "9+2" urban agglomeration of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can use its universities' advantages to attract international scientific and technical talents to launch more basic research projects related to the construction needs of the Greater Bay Area. Through the form of cooperation between science and technology parks, the research results will be tested in Shenzhen to complete product conversion. Then promote marketing in the Greater Bay Area, continuously evaluate the business value of products, and then determine the next market strategy, choose to expand the domestic market or rush into the international.

"It's not just Hong Kong's science and technology enterprises. If the mainland science and technology enterprises intend to make international financing and help the internationalization of the product, they can return to Hong Kong to give full play to Hong Kong's advantages in international law and financial centers, so as to complete the goal of going out to sea to go out to sea "Huang Jinhui believes that Hong Kong and Shenzhen's scientific and innovative cooperation will inevitably help the country to promote" dual cycles "and have a lot of tasks for the construction of the" Guangdong -Hong Kong -Macao Greater Bay Area "International Science and Technology Innovation Center. In order to promote the development of the 5G industry in the Guangdong -Hong Kong -Macao Greater Bay Area and build an international scientific and technological innovation center, China Mobile Hong Kong, China Mobile Guangdong, Macau Telecommunications and Guangdong Communications Industry Association jointly advocated the establishment of the "Greater Bay Area 5G Industry Alliance".

The SAR government invested HK $ 150 billion to promote the development of science and technology, and startups increased by 3 times in 8 years

Despite the strong scientific research strength, Hong Kong's footsteps in the development of the scientific and technological industry have been a bit slow in the past few decades. The "2019 Global Competitiveness Report" released by the World Economic Forum shows that Hong Kong's overall performance ranks third in the world. The "innovation ability" scores the lowest in all 12 indicators and ranks 26th in the world.

For a long time, Hong Kong's economy has long relied on financial services, trade and logistics, tourism and industrial and commercial support and professional services, and private institutions lack the driving force for technological innovation. Huang Jinhui told reporters that Hong Kong had several opportunities and discussions on the development of the science and technology industry several times, but in the end it was gone.

"There is such a sentence in Hong Kong 'High Tech, Low Tech fishing', which means that it will fail to engage in high -tech, and you can make money if you do low technology content. Investing 10 million, you can double after two or three years, and he will tell you that if I put in the stock market in the stock market, I will return it for two or three days. Why do I have to spend so much money and so much time. . "Huang Jinhui said with a smile to the reporter.

Change occurred in 2015. This year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Innovation and Science and Technology Bureau was established, the goal is to strengthen the Hong Kong Creative Talent Talent and promote local science and technology products and services; The government also established a "Youth Development Fund" with a total amount of HK $ 300 million in 2015 to help youth entrepreneurship.

The industry believes that the reasons for the forcing Hong Kong to make changes are closely related to the decline in Hong Kong's tourism industry, and the scale of the local manufacturing industry is constantly narrowing. In addition, the rise of the Internet tide in the Mainland has also made Hong Kong see its lack of innovation and technology development.

In recent years, the investment of the SAR government has gradually increased in promoting the development of Hong Kong's development. Related data show that during his tenure, the SAR government had invested more than 150 billion Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong's total local R & D total expenditure increased from approximately HK $ 19.7 billion in 2016 to about HK $ 26.5 billion in 2020. The proportion of local R & D total compared to the total local product has been hovering at about 0.74%in the past 10 years to 0.99%of 2020 Essence

At the same time that the SAR government has increased investment, the central government has also begun to transit Hong Kong and Macau, providing support for local scientific research projects. At present, the national key R & D has been opened to Hong Kong and Macao, and scientific researchers from Hong Kong and Macao universities can declare projects as project leaders. According to the relevant data released by the SAR Government, from 2019 to 2020, the Mainland has approved more than 440 million yuan to Hong Kong universities and scientific research institutions.

With the support of the SAR government and the support of the central government, Hong Kong's science and technology industry has entered a "fast track". Related data show that the number of start -ups in Hong Kong has risen from about 1,000 in 2014 to about 4,000 in 2021; the number of employees in the founding industry also increased from approximately 35,000 in 2014 to approximately 45,000 in 2019. In the past three years, startups in the science and technology parks and digital ports have raised more than 45.5 billion Hong Kong dollars, and each investing in HK $ 1 has attracted the investment of HK $ 13.

The Hong Kong Science Park located in Sha Tin is the core carrier of Hong Kong's establishment of a world -class innovation center.

Strengthen talent training and introduction,

Actively develop the International Innovation Science and Technology Center

Innovative technology development, talent is the foundation. Huang Jinhui believes that Hong Kong's construction of an international innovation technology center is urgent to solve the problem of talent.

The "Human Resources Establishment Report 2027" released by the SAR Government Labor and Welfare Bureau shows that the human demand of Hong Kong's creation industry will increase by 4.3%year -on -year in the next few years. The growth rate of labor demand for traditional pillar industries such as finance, trade, and professional services is only about 1%. It is estimated that by 2027, the human resources demand of Hong Kong's related industries will reach 57,600, and the talent gap will urgently need to be supplemented.

"The scientific research strength of Hong Kong universities is very strong, and it has also trained many outstanding R & D talents and scientists. But this kind of talent is better at technological research, and the next technological development and technological transfer requires different types of talents. What we want to solve is how to make more undergraduates stay in this industry, make more young people interested in technology, create more scientific and technological positions, and create a overall scientific and technological atmosphere of society.

The reporter learned that in recent years, in order to solve the problem of insufficient scientific research talents in Hong Kong, the SAR Government has formulated the "Talent Plan" to attract outstanding talents at home and abroad; launched the "Outstanding Creative Scientific Plan" to strongly support local universities to attract internationally renowned creative sciences. The team came to Hong Kong to participate in teaching and research activities; it also proposed a five -year "scientific and technological talent cultivation plan", including the "doctoral specialty library planning" and "re -industrialization and science and technology training plan". The former provided up to two postdoctoral specialties hired by qualified innovation institutions to provide 32,000 Hong Kong dollars per person per month, with a maximum of 24 months; the latter funded local enterprises in Hong Kong to receive high -end scientific and technological training in the form of pairing. In order to attract outstanding students from all over the world, the Hong Kong University of Hong Kong Education Funding Committee also increased significantly to HK $ 25,100 per month from the new academic year of 2018-2019. At the same time, the transportation allowances specializing in academic conferences and research dedicated to doctoral students have also increased to HK $ 1,2600, and both increased by more than 25%.

(This article was published in "China Economic Weekly", No. 12, 2022)

The cover of "China Economic Weekly" in the 12th issue of 2022

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