Innovation synergy is a crucial factor in the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. In the Plan for the Building and Development of the Yangtze River Delta Community of Sci-Tech Innovation released in December 2020, the Ministry of Science and Technology sets the near and medium-term development goals. The near-term goal is to build a modern and internationalized community of sci-tech innovation in the Yangtze River Delta region by 2025. The medium-term goal is to fully build a world-leading community of sci-tech innovation by 2035. In other words, a complete framework of the community will be developed within the 14th Five-Year Plan period; and in another 10 years, the community should be a key force to drive the global sci-tech innovation. These goals are hard to reach. The three provinces and one municipality in the Yangtze River Delta region (Shanghai municipality, and Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces) should not only perform “solos” but also team up to participate in the “team competition” on behalf of the country. To deliver satisfactory performance, we must keep in mind the following key words:

Common emotions and consensus

The key to common emotions is the psychological expectation of having a shared vision, so as to stimulate the consciousness and behavior of working together to realize the vision. Amid the unpredictable and ever-changing international political situation today, the sci-tech and industry competition is increasingly intensified with accelerated restructuring of the innovation and industry chains. Within China, the Yangtze River Delta has outstanding advantages in all aspects of basic conditions, with strong economic strength, rich sci-tech innovation resources, mature infrastructure, a good industrial base, a high degree of opening, and an ideal business environment, and occupies a pivotal position in the country’s development paradigm.

Based on “common emotions”, the three provinces and one municipality should reach a consensus on the overall goal design, strategic planning, path choice, plan formulation, and coordinated support mechanism development and act in concert. The three provinces and one municipality have all drawn up blueprints for sci-tech innovation development in the next phase. Apparently, the three provinces and one municipality taking “sci-tech innovation” as the keyword for future development is an important foundation for the formation of the “consensus”. The Yangtze River Delta Community of Sci-Tech Innovation should find the “greatest common divisor” among the planning goals of the three provinces and one municipality, on the one hand; it should also construct an “objective function” oriented toward serving the country’s major strategic needs, on the other hand.

Sharing

Targeting the development of cutting-edge technologies and sci-tech industries in the future, the Yangtze River Delta Community of Sci-Tech Innovation will be deeply influenced by the evolution of the internal and external environment and subject to various uncertainties and risks that are difficult to predict in the process of stimulating new drivers, creating new advantages, and building a world-class innovation-driven industrial cluster. Firstly, the community may lose preemptive opportunities in the competition in key technical fields and thus miss the best time to control the key links of the emerging innovation chain and industry chain. Secondly, major breakthroughs in disruptive technology R&D in particular directions may change or even subvert the product or service formation mechanisms, disrupting the underlying technical logic for the sustainable development of advantageous industries in the Yangtze River Delta. Thirdly, the comprehensive performance of major research infrastructure that costs massive funds, manpower, and energy and is placed great hopes on may fail to meet the construction requirements and may be eliminated from the fierce competition in the exploration of frontier science fields. Fourthly, the gradually increasing technology blockade and market closure to China may challenge the high-tech industry development in the Yangtze River Delta in terms of technology acquisition and market development. Last but not least, it is difficult to fundamentally change the situation of basic research in reliance on foreign resources in two major aspects in the short term. Once the external situation changes suddenly, some important equipment, instruments, materials, and software may be blocked from supply or suspended from upgrading. The above risks may be present in various forms one after another through specific trigger mechanisms on different time nodes. In this regard, the three provinces and one municipality should be fully prepared and develop plans to build a risk-sharing mechanism against the possible challenges.

Sharing can be understood at two levels. One is resource sharing: The Yangtze River Delta region enjoys rich sci-tech innovation resources. For example, it has two national science centers in Zhangjiang and Hefei, who have owned about 1/3 of China’s large scientific facilities, built or under construction. How to further increase the efficiency of sharing innovation resources, such as major sci-tech infrastructure, R&D and transformation functional platforms, large scientific instruments, sci-tech service systems, and data and information, in the region should be first answered. The other one is benefit sharing: Sci-tech innovation synergy in the Yangtze River Delta should make the “cake” bigger through the joint efforts of the three provinces and one municipality.

Co-building and co-governance

In the coming years, the three provinces and one municipality should, firstly, focus on the construction of “hard facilities” to jointly create a major sci-tech infrastructure cluster, strive to form systematic breakthrough capabilities in key technology areas for future industries, co-build a group of high-level innovation bases and industrialization bases in the Yangtze River Delta, and create several world-class innovation industry clusters. Secondly, we need to advance the cultivation of a “soft environment” to co-build a good innovation ecosystem where there are synergistic actors, abundant resources, frequent interactions, friendly business environments, and efficient governance. Furthermore, all cities in the Yangtze River Delta are working very hard to optimize the business environment. How to make joint efforts and avoid a race to the bottom is also an issue of concern.

In terms of “co-governance”, the three provinces and one municipality should well handle the following relationships: the relationship between government and market, the relationship between strategic sci-tech forces and social innovation forces, and the relationship between “consistency” and “homogenization”.

From common emotions and consensus to sharing and then to co-building and co-governance, they are essential to the Yangtze River Delta Community of Sci-Tech Innovation and a path choice to follow. Though the road ahead is dangerous and difficult, with constant efforts, the goals will be achieved.