On October 24, the Department of Science and Technology of Hunan Province held a special press conference as part of a series reflecting on Hunan's achievements during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. It was learned that during this period, Hunan steadfastly advanced the construction of a strong province in science and technology. Its ranking for regional comprehensive innovation strength rose from 12th to 9th nationwide, placing it among the nation's leading group.

The provincial Party committee and the provincial government have consistently prioritized scientific and technological innovation at the core of modernization efforts. They established a high-level science and technology commission, took the lead nationwide in issuing guidelines on building a powerhouse in science and technology, and steadily promoted the coordination of innovation plans, programs, policies, and platforms. This has fostered a unified work pattern across the province, significantly enhancing the systemic, holistic, and coordinated nature of scientific and technological innovation work.

Since the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Hunan's total societal R&D investment has grown at an average annual rate of 11.61%, reaching 139.46 billion CNY in 2024, firmly securing the 10th place nationwide. R&D intensity rose from 2.16% to 2.62%, advancing the national ranking from 13th to 9th. The share of basic research investment increased from 3.84% to 7%, surpassing the national average. Technology contract transaction volumes exceeded 480 billion CNY, accounting for over 9% of GDP, ranking among the top nationally in both total volume and proportion. The number of high-tech enterprises surpassed 17,500, doubling in count, and five advanced manufacturing clusters entered the "national team," ranking first in central China.

In terms of building strategic scientific and technological strength, Hunan, aligning with national needs and its own capabilities, has laid out and constructed four major laboratories, including the Yuelushan Laboratory, and four major scientific facilities, such as the Large Aircraft Ground Dynamics Testing Platform. The construction of Xiangjiang Sci-Tech Town has entered the "fast lane," with over 40 R&D center projects introduced and established. Since August 2023, the development of Changsha as a global R&D center city has added 1,796 new R&D institutions, doubling the previous number, propelling Changsha to the 23rd place among global scientific cities. The province has been approved to build 36 state key Laboratories and national defense-related national key Laboratories, as well as three national technology innovation centers, ranking second nationwide in total number.

Key and core technological breakthroughs have yielded fruitful results. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Hunan has cumulatively achieved breakthroughs in over 600 key and core technologies, with 35 major achievements recognized as ground-breaking or best-in-class internationally or domestically. A number of advanced and sophisticated technologies representing "China's speed," "China's precision," "China's depth," and "China's strength," such as the "Three Ultras" and "Three Deeps," lead the world. Key components like wheel brake systems and frame-type landing gears for large civil aircraft have supported the C919 large passenger aircraft in soaring into the blue sky. The "Two Chips and One Ecosystem" underpins the backbone of the national IT application innovation industry. Complete sets of equipment for 8-inch integrated circuits and main bearings for large tunnel boring machines have broken foreign monopolies. In 2024, 12 projects led and completed by Hunan entities received National Science and Technology Awards.

The deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation is accelerating the cultivation of new-quality productive forces. The proportion of Hunan's large-scale industrial enterprises engaging in R&D activities reached 45%, maintaining first place nationwide for three consecutive years. The enterprise innovation capability index ranks 8th nationally. The local commercialization rate of scientific and technological achievements from universities in Hunan surpassed 50%. The reform of risk compensation for knowledge-value credit loans guided banks to extend over 62 billion CNY in credit loans to 23,600 technology-based enterprises. The number of companies listed on the STAR Market reached 19, ranking 9th nationally and 2nd in central China.

The science and technology talent pool continues to expand, with the number of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Hunan increasing to 41. There are over 1,000 national-level high-level scientific and technological innovation talents and more than 5,000 provincial-level and above high-level S&T innovation talents. Hunan took the lead nationwide in establishing dedicated S&T expert service teams, and its "four mechanisms" for rural S&T special commissioners have been promoted by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn