Beijing played a leading role nationwide in comprehensive scientific and technological innovation in the past year, according to a 2018 working conference held on Feb. 5 on establishing the capital city of China as the national science and technology center.
In 2017, over 96 percent of the 215 tasks and key projects that were laid out to help realize the goal of making Beijing China's scientific and technological innovation center were successfully carried through. The regional domestic product in the Zhongguancun Science Park, the Huairou Science Park, the Future Science Park, and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area accounted for a combined 30-plus percent of the total in Beijing, leading to an 8.3 percent increase year-on-year. Among the quartet, the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area grew fastest with a yearly increase of 12 percent.
Officials at the conference said the city will formulate the development plans for the four areas in the first half of 2018, aiming to build a national scientific and technological innovation center with international impact. To such end, Beijing will ramp up the effort and increase investment in developing core technologies. Meanwhile, the city will help speed up the integrated development in innovation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and bring out the most from scientists and researchers.