Preface: Professor Chen Qiang of the Department of Management Science and Engineering of the School of Economics and Management published an article in the Wenhui Daily on how to enhance the effectiveness of regional innovation system and take on the historical mission of high-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta, a pole of vigorous growth in China’s development, a model area for high-quality development, a pioneering area in basically realizing modernization, a demonstration area for integrated regional development, and a new highland for reform and opening-up. The following is the original article published.

Key viewpoint:

1. Openness, inclusiveness and enterprise are the spiritual core of the Southern Yangtze culture. The formation logic of the culture came from the River, Canal, Lake and Sea as a unique geographical feature of Southern Yangtze.

2. Firmly grasp the initiative of innovation and development, gather scientific and technological forces, and focus on key areas and key links.

3. It is necessary to accelerate the construction of a more convenient, fast and efficient new infrastructure system to consolidate the material foundation of high-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta and realize the physical connectivity at a higher energy level.

4. In terms of scientific and technological innovation, there is still much room for improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of inter-regional, inter-industrial and inter-departmental collaboration.

5. Explore new rules of global innovation resource flow by modern scientific and technological means, constantly improve government services, and improve policy and institutional supply in terms of quality and efficiency.

How to enhance the effectiveness of regional innovation system and take on the historical mission of promoting high-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta, a pole of vigorous growth in China’s development, a model area for high-quality development, a pioneering area in basically realizing modernization, a demonstration area for integrated regional development, and a new highland for reform and opening-up? It is worth further thinking and research.

The Natural “Connectivity” of the River, Canal, Lake and Sea is an Important Clue to the Prosperity of Southern Yangtze

Openness, inclusiveness and enterprise are the spiritual core of the Southern Yangtze culture. The formation logic of the culture came from the River, Canal, Lake and Sea as a unique geographical feature of Southern Yangtze.

Openness is the most prominent feature of the Southern Yangtze culture. Openness originates from connectivity. The economic development and cultural prosperity of the Southern Yangtze region, to a large extent, benefits from the developed water system. The water transport network formed by the River (Yangtze River), Canal (Grand Canal), Lake (Taihu Lake) and Sea (East China Sea) has realized the rapid gathering and circulation of various production factors, promoted the integration and transformation of materials, energy, information, concepts and even culture, and continuously formed high-quality material and ideological output, making Southern Yangtze not only a land of abundance and merchants, but also a cultural and spiritual homeland.

Inclusiveness is another feature of Southern Yangtze culture. Inclusiveness is related to diversity. At the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, Southern Yangtze was the transportation and exchange hub, where various people, dialects and customs were all mixed up, scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants lived in harmony, and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism coexisted in peace, shaping the inclusiveness feature of the Southern Yangtze culture. After the Opium War, the western culture was introduced into China, and Shanghai-school culture continuously enriched the Southern Yangtze culture. The Southern Yangtze culture was also integrated with the spirit of “Red Culture” after the Communist Manifesto was published in Shanghai, where and the Communist Party of China was born. The Southern Yangtze culture was sublimated in the continuous impact and violent shock. Different thoughts, theories, beliefs, concepts, customs and habits coexisted in mutual respect. Even disagreements and conflicts could be resolved in flexible and efficient ways.

Openness is the result of connectivity, diversity is the result of openness, tolerance is the result of diversity, abundance is the result of tolerance, diligent thinking is the result of abundance, and enterprise is the result of diligent thinking. Such features as openness, inclusiveness and enterprise of Southern Yangtze culture present a clear logic of progressive value. The natural “connectivity” formed by the River, Canal, Lake and Sea is not only the logical starting point for the formation of Southern Yangtze culture, but also an important clue to the prosperity of Southern Yangtze.

In a sense, it should become the starting point of high-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta to build new connectivity with the new “River, Canal, Lake and Sea”, further improve the connectivity and fully release the energy endowed by connectivity.

In fact, guided by the national strategy of integrated development, the planning policy system of “four beams and eight pillars” has been initially established in the Yangtze River Delta, and the multi-level working mechanism has played a practical role. It is deeply felt that during epidemic prevention and control as well as economic recovery, integration mechanism and interconnection infrastructure have played a role.

Construct a New “River, Canal, Lake and Sea” to Support High-Quality Innovation in the Yangtze River Delta

In recent years, the international situation has undergone profound changes, with unilateralism, isolationism and protectionism on the rise, the COVID-19 epidemic has been spreading throughout the world, and the worldwide factor circulation, scientific and technological exchanges and industrial cooperation have encountered many obstacles and challenges. After analyzing the situation, the Party Central Committee has resolutely made the major strategic deployment of accelerating the establishment of a “dual circulation” development pattern in which the domestic economic cycle plays a leading role while the international economic cycle remains its extension and supplement.

The Yangtze River Delta is highly expected to promote high-quality innovation in China’s overall layout of the future development. As a “pioneer in China’s technological and industrial innovation”, Shanghai and Yangtze River Delta should provide not only high-quality products, but also high-level scientific and technological supply, to support high-quality development nationwide. The accelerated evolution of the new round of scientific and technological revolution as well as industrial transformation has even more highlighted the urgency of accelerating the improvement of scientific and technological innovation ability in the Yangtze River Delta. First, provide solid scientific and technological support for economic and social development, constantly create new driving forces for development, participate in the global technological and industrial competition amid profound changes unseen in a century, and act as “a pioneer in innovation-driven development”. Second, as the reform deepens, constantly break through the “pain points” and “blocking points” of the system and mechanism encountered during the innovation-driven development, systematically push forward the experiments in all-round innovation and reform and explore as the pioneer. Third, blaze a new trial in regional collaborative innovation, and form more replicable and generalizable experience.

Only by firmly grasping the initiative of innovation and development, gathering scientific and technological forces, and focusing on key areas and key links, can we make remarkable achievements as quickly as possible.

The regional integration development of Yangtze River Delta has become a national strategy, and it is urgent to consolidate and expand our platform, so as to form the systematic capacity. Meanwhile, by accelerating the construction of new infrastructure, reform of system and mechanism as well as optimization of business environment, and promoting the connectivity of physical, institutional and ecological levels, a new “River, Canal, Lake and Sea” can be built to support high-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta.

Accelerate “New Infrastructure” to Promote Physical Connectivity

Firstly, we need to pace up the construction of new infrastructure to promote physical connectivity in the Yangtze River Delta. With the continuous deepening of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the production factors have been increased substantially, and the modes of connection with infrastructure have been diversified, leading to the comprehensive transformation in terms of factor circulation mode, scientific and technological innovation mode, production organization form and social governance mode. Nowadays, data has become important assets as well as a new production factor. Infrastructure is no longer merely railways, highways, airports and water, electricity and gas, but also an enhanced information network of storage systems, computing capacity and transmission channels. The construction of science-based infrastructure, namely “new infrastructure”, was proposed at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on March 4, 2020. High-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta entails aggregation of advanced production factors such as talents, institutions, technology, data, capital, management and other high-grade production factors. We need to accelerate the construction of a more convenient, fast and efficient new infrastructure system to consolidate the material foundation of high-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta and realize the physical connectivity at higher energy levels. New thoughts should be adopted for new infrastructure under the background of integration in the Yangtze River Delta. First, adopt soft and hard tactics at the same time. We should not only be devoted to the construction of information network facilities for strategic emerging industries and future industries, but also solve the problem of fast commuting between cities in the Yangtze River Delta, as well as between urban centers and key industrial areas; second, planning and construction as well as operation services should be paid equal attention. The planning and layout of new infrastructure must be carried out in the strategic height of integration in the Yangtze River Delta. In terms of operation services, efforts should be made to optimize the interaction interface between supply side and demand side in the region, and further improve the interaction effect, so as to make the value of high-grade production factors continuously increase in the rapid flow; third, there should be “redundant design”, for which the realistic background of accelerating iterative development of technology and frequent impact of disruptive innovation should be taken into consideration. Through the advanced layout and construction of new infrastructure, a social transmission system at a high energy level supporting high-quality innovation and sustainable development in the Yangtze River Delta will be constructed.

Accelerate the Reform of System and Mechanism to Promote Institutional Connectivity

Secondly, we need to propel the reform of system and mechanism to promote institutional connectivity in the Yangtze River Delta. High-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta aims at forming a systematic capability to face global competition. Firstly, we must ensure the safety, quality and efficiency of internal circulation. Secondly, we need to elevate the opening-up under the new situation and to plan for the global scientific and technological innovation resources.

In order to achieve the above objectives, firstly, we need to pay attention to top-level design, promote governments, market subjects, universities and research institutes, new R&D institutions and social innovation forces at all levels in the Yangtze River Delta, thus forming a strategic consensus on high-quality innovation in the Yangtze River Delta. Specifically, we should introduce inter-provincial consultation and coordination mechanisms into the formulation of major planning in the field of scientific and technological innovation, the deployment of big science plans and big science projects, and the layout of major scientific research infrastructure and functional platforms in the three provinces (Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang) and one city (Shanghai). Second, we should “look, hear, ask and position”, diagnose the “obstruction” and “blockage” problems in the interaction of scientific and technological innovation subjects, the flow of resources and the development and utilization of the Yangtze River Delta, and break the relevant policy barriers and institutional barriers. Since the reform and opening up, the Yangtze River Delta has become one of the most active and open economic region in China with the most abundant scientific and technological resources, and the greatest innovation potential. However, in terms of scientific and technological innovation, there is still much room for improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of inter-regional, inter-industrial and inter-departmental collaboration, with communication more important than cooperation, and theoreticism more important than pragmatism. The problems of repeated investment of innovation resources and homogeneous competition of high-tech industries have yet been. Therefore, we need to establish and optimize the mechanism of innovation activity coordination, innovation resource sharing, innovation input sharing and innovation output sharing in the Yangtze River Delta. Thirdly, we need to work together to overcome difficulties. The three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta should rely on and strengthen the existing cooperation platforms and relevant mechanisms, and actively explore new cooperation modes and paths. On the one hand, we should aim at the frontiers of world science, and in important fields bearing upon the common destiny of mankind and high-quality development of the state, strengthen the ability to make decisions on the development orientation and set agenda items, jointly launch major basic research projects, work together in R&D of major instruments and equipment as well as construction of large science platform, explore more in-depth modes of research cooperation, and gradually change the situation that “two ends of basic research are abroad”. On the other hand, we need to focus on the national strategic needs in the “urgent, difficult and challenging” fields, make overall plan for institutional innovative forces and social innovative wisdom, innovate the management modes of scientific research projects, launch a number of projects to jointly tackle key problems in the Yangtze River Delta, and strive to achieve important breakthroughs in key and core technologies.

Optimize Business Environment to Promote Ecological Connectivity

Third, we need to optimize the business environment to promote the ecological connectivity in the Yangtze River Delta. For the Yangtze River Delta, high-quality innovation entails the creation of regional innovation ecology beyond the administrative boundary. The optimization of business environment is an important breakthrough point, which requires the overall planning of goals, standard formulation, mechanism design, factor allocation, layout optimization and process reengineering in the three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta. Therefore, the overall design, pioneering thoughts and breakthrough practices are necessary.

Richard Florida, an American economist, believes that regional economic growth is based on such “3Ts” as technology, talent and tolerance. Among them, the population confounding index is an important index used to measure the inclusiveness. In 2019, a total of 215,000 foreigners worked in Shanghai, less than 1% of the permanent resident population in Shanghai, but close to 1/4 of all foreign workers in China. The proportion of foreigners in Silicon Valley, a typical innovation region in the world, is as high as 38%. Thus it can be seen that there is still much room for improvement in further optimizing the business environment as well as attracting and planning for global innovation resources in Shanghai and even the Yangtze River Delta.

To optimize the business environment in the Yangtze River Delta, we need to improve the regional linkage and collaborative governance, vigorously promote the “Government Online-Offline” and “Governance Online-Offline” in the Yangtze River Delta, start with the construction of a social credit system, accelerate the integrated transformation of relevant government processes, realize the sharing and interworking of public data and quasi-public data within the region, promote the in-depth integration and overall optimization of on-line and off-line businesses, reduce the time and cost of handing matters across administrative regions, and jointly build a world-class demonstration area for the best practices of business environment in the Yangtze River Delta. In particular, we must explore new rules of global innovation resource flow by modern scientific and technological means, analyze the new structural characteristics of the overseas subjects’ demand for business environment, and constantly improve government services and improve policy and institutional supply in terms of quality and efficiency on this basis.

The water transport network formed by the River, Canal, Lake and Sea has made Southern Yangtze prosperous for millenniums. Southern Yangtze was geographically advantageous in the past, and now it is even more so. In the new global competition and cooperation pattern, the Yangtze River Delta will be reinvigorated by building a high-efficiency social transmission system with the new “River, Canal, Lake and Sea” and empowered high-quality innovation with new connectivity.

Originally published in Wenhui Daily on January 5, 2021