E. China's Shanghai to accelerate establishment and development of foreign R&D centers

Shanghai will accelerate the establishment and development of foreign research and development (R&D) centers in a bid to build itself into a highland for attracting foreign investment, according to a meeting held in Shanghai on Monday.

In recent years, Shanghai has witnessed accelerated agglomeration of foreign-funded R&D centers, which have become a new driving force for the construction of Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center.

As of the end of August, there had been 473 foreign-funded R&D centers in Shanghai, mainly in biomedicine, information technology, auto parts and chemical industries. On average, each had introduced 227 R&D talents, applied for 179 patents and owned 100 authorized patents.

According to the meeting, this move is expected to boost foreign firms' confidence in expanding investment in China, speed up the construction of Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center, and promote the high-quality development of Shanghai's economy. Efforts should be made to ensure the implementation and effectiveness of the policies and step up policy innovation.