A regional innovation valley linking Shanghai with eight neighboring cities is rising as one in all China”s essential engines for strategic applied sciences, utilizing cross-provincial coordination to speed up industries from satellite tv for pc web to business house and 6G communications.
The G60 Science and Technology Innovation Valley of Yangtze River Delta, spanning 9 cities throughout Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, has developed from a neighborhood cooperation initiative right into a nationwide technique geared toward integrating analysis, manufacturing, finance and commercialization throughout one in all China’s most economically dynamic areas.
As China is constructing the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center right into a world-class innovation hub, the G60 valley has develop into a testing floor for breaking down administrative obstacles which have historically hampered regional innovation.
“The original idea was simple — no single city could build an entire industrial chain on its own, so the nine cities began coordinating their respective strengths. That naturally created the basis for collaboration. Different cities contribute different advantages, from research and talent to manufacturing capacity and financial services, forming an integrated industrial ecosystem,” stated Xu Shidong, head of the commercial group on the G60 Joint Office.
The valley covers Shanghai’s Songjiang district and eight neighboring cities in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui. Together they generate about one-fifteenth of China’s GDP with solely one-twenty-eighth of its inhabitants, whereas accounting for roughly one-fifth of corporations listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market and about 12 p.c of China’s unicorns, in response to the G60 Joint Office.
Satellite web service has develop into one of many valley’s showcase sectors, as China accelerates the deployment of low-Earth-orbit satellite tv for pc constellations.
Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co, the builder and operator of the Spacesail Constellation — a large low-Earth-orbit business satellite tv for pc community — has emerged because the anchor firm of the regional satellite tv for pc ecosystem.
Xu Yunxiang, vice-president of Spacesail, stated: “The constellation creates demand across the entire industry chain, including satellite manufacturing, payloads, ground terminals, testing equipment and application services.”
The firm has launched 238 satellites and goals to have 324 in orbit by the tip of 2026, laying the groundwork for preliminary business broadband providers in world markets, notably international locations taking part within the Belt and Road Initiative.
In June, the corporate accomplished one in all China’s first profitable direct-to-cell exams, enabling 5G voice and video calls utilizing an unmodified business smartphone linked on to a satellite tv for pc, a milestone it says demonstrates the potential convergence of terrestrial and satellite tv for pc communications.
Xu Yunxiang stated the G60 ecosystem permits corporations to collaborate throughout analysis, manufacturing, launch providers and operations inside a unified regional community. As the lead firm within the trade chain, Spacesail units technical requirements and high quality administration programs that assist suppliers develop collectively.
Meanwhile, Xu Shidong stated the focus of suppliers throughout the Yangtze River Delta area offers the area’s business house sector a bonus.
“Shanghai offers talent and financial resources, while suppliers across neighboring G60 cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Huzhou and Hefei complete the industry chain. Commercial space ultimately has to compete on cost. Previously, the priority was proving the technology worked. Commercialization requires making it affordable,” he added.
As satellite tv for pc web and 6G applied sciences advance, executives say testing gear is turning into one of many trade’s most vital enabling applied sciences.
Transcom Instruments Co, a communications testing gear maker among the many first corporations listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, has develop into a serious provider of testing programs for China’s satellite tv for pc web packages.
“Testing equipment is effectively the ruler for the entire communications industry,” stated Feng Yuejun, chairman of Transcom. “If the measurement standard is inaccurate, every downstream product — chips, terminals, satellites and networks — will struggle to interoperate.”
For greater than a decade, the corporate has labored with Southeast University in neighboring Jiangsu province to develop communications testing applied sciences, turning tutorial analysis into business merchandise utilized in China’s wi-fi and satellite tv for pc industries, Feng stated.
He stated the G60 valley has made such cross-regional collaboration simpler by combining Shanghai’s analysis strengths with manufacturing sources throughout the Yangtze River Delta area, including: “High-end R&D can remain in Shanghai, while production and industrialization can be distributed across the broader Yangtze River Delta.”
The valley’s industrial ecosystem can also be increasing past satellite tv for pc manufacturing into space-based computing.
Comospace Co, incubated by the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is growing onboard computing programs that allow satellites to course of synthetic intelligence workloads in orbit as an alternative of transmitting uncooked knowledge again to Earth.
Liu Yaoqi, CEO of Comospace, stated future satellite tv for pc constellations would more and more depend on onboard computing belongings to course of rising volumes of Earth statement and communications knowledge.
Beyond industrial improvement, the G60 valley has additionally develop into a coverage laboratory for regional institutional integration.
Xu Shidong stated governments have begun permitting cross-regional innovation consortiums to qualify collectively for public R&D funding as an alternative of proscribing subsidies to corporations registered in a single jurisdiction.
Shanghai and eight different cities have collectively established a regional expertise commercialization fund, permitting capital to comply with initiatives somewhat than administrative boundaries, whereas corporations can retain operations the place they’re finest suited.
The valley has additionally launched specialised lending merchandise for tech companies and coordinated with the Shanghai Stock Exchange to increase financing channels for high-growth enterprises.
Rather than requiring corporations to relocate, the mannequin permits companies to maintain their headquarters and core operations the place they’re whereas increasing different capabilities throughout the area, with taking part cities sharing the financial advantages via coordinated coverage help and regional funding mechanisms.
Since 2025, the G60 valley has adopted a rotating coordination mechanism, with every of the 9 cities taking turns to steer the joint workplace whereas establishing devoted places of work to coordinate coverage implementation, issue mobility and common exchanges on industrial cooperation, Xu Shidong stated, including: “We’re trying to move beyond simply building a brand. The next stage is making companies genuinely feel the benefits of regional integration through practical policies.”
The strategy displays China’s broader effort to advertise high-level technological self-reliance by integrating analysis, manufacturing and capital throughout regional clusters, making the G60 valley one of many nation’s most carefully watched experiments in coordinated innovation.