Shanghai releases new measures to boost tech-focused service industry

Shanghai released a set of 16 new measures on Thursday to facilitate the high-quality development of technology-focused service industry, which is projected to be advanced with 39 detailed reforms.

A total of seven measures have been rolled out to improve market supply. Specifically, large technology infrastructure and scientific equipment will be further opened to the public. Efforts will be made to set up a "scientific data bank" with which big data and large language models will be better used for scientific research.

Meanwhile, a mechanism combining the funds serving future-oriented industries, incubators, concept verification centers and industrial clusters will be set up in the city to better serve the development of frontier technologies and emerging industries. The pilot program for the securitization of intellectual property rights will be further expanded. The computing facilities will be accessible to the public with more favorable prices, supporting online testing and intelligent testing powered by Internet of Things.

Another four policies have been introduced to expand the market demand for technology-focused services. A list will be released in Shanghai to streamline the demand for technology innovation. Concept verification and technology consultation will be eligible for the technology innovation vouchers that the municipal government initiated in 2018 to support technologically advanced small and medium-sized enterprises and startups from its fiscal budgets.

In addition, five measures have been rolled out to further improve the business environment. The cross-border data flow will be better managed to facilitate scientific research. The government will also provide more services to help companies lower cost and seek more financing.

According to Zhai Jinguo, deputy director of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, the technology-focused service industry has entered a new development paradigm, witnessing the maturity of research and development, inspection and testing, scientific and technological consulting, technology transfer and transformation, concept verification, incubation of startups, fintech, among others.

Concept verification will be one highlight in Shanghai when it makes continued efforts to develop the service-focused technology industry, said Zhai during a news conference on Thursday.

Zhai said the concept verification can be further divided into two parts: verifying the feasibility of the technology and seeking market recognition. It can be considered as the very first step of transforming basic researches into applications bearing business value.

To improve the city's strength in concept verification, universities will be encouraged to set up early-stage results pool and more flexible screening mechanisms. In this way, a list of research with business potential can stand out at an earlier stage. Researchers will be trained with more business knowledge so that they can serve as the "technology managers", who will hopefully grow into project managers, he said.

Wang Yiyang, deputy director of Shanghai municipal administration for market regulation, said at the Thursday news conference that the city will also step up its efforts to improve its competitiveness in inspection and testing.

According to Wang, inspection and testing are the universally recognized ways to facilitate international trade and reduce barriers in the global market. They help companies and products to enter the international market more easily.

By the end of 2024, Shanghai was home to 1,488 certification institutions providing inspection and testing services. Hiring 83,000 people in the city, these institutions made a combined sales revenue of over 46.8 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) last year, which was about 8 percent of the country's total industry income.

Shanghai will give more play to these institutions to facilitate the local companies' outbound reaches, said Wang.

For one thing, these institutions will be encouraged to take part in overseas mergers and acquisitions as well as the establishment of overseas branches in Europe, the Middle East and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A verification brochure will be compiled to develop businesses in the economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. These inspection and testing institutions will also be encouraged to take part in the promulgation of international or local standards, added Wang.

The guideline to accelerate the high-quality development of technology-focused service industry in Shanghai

1. Advance the opening-up of technology innovation resources

2. Innovate the construction and operation models for concept verification

3. Deepen reform in science and technology associations and journals

4. Strengthen technology consulting services and the establishment of technology think-tanks

5. Accelerate the method reform for training technology talents

6. Promote the transformation and application of intellectual property rights

7. Actively nurture new business models

8. Advance the development and opening-up of the application scenarios

9. Optimize the use of fiscal budget and technology innovation vouchers

10. Expand opening-up

11. Advance companies' globalization

12. Expand talent pool

13. Optimize the cross-border data flow management for scientific researches

14. Help companies to seek more financing, lower costs and improve efficiency

15. Strengthen the nurturing of brands

16. Optimize the development mechanism