What is the industry of the future? On August 22, the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang Province announced the first batch of provincial-level future industry pilot zones to be cultivated and created. 8 future industry pilot zones were shortlisted, including West Hangzhou Science and Technology Innovation Corridor Artificial Intelligence, Deqing Beidou Dixin, Haining Third Generation Semiconductor, Aerospace Industry (UAV and Satellite Internet), Future Network (6G), China Eye Valley Eye Health, Ningbo Flexible Electronics, and Third-Generation Semiconductors in Yuecheng District, Shaoxing City.

It is not difficult to find that these future industries have very distinct characteristics—fast-growing, strategic, and leading industries that are currently in the incubation stage. “The scientific and educational resources and industrial foundation of the regions where they are established are relatively prominent.” said the relevant person in charge from the Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology.

Take the Future Network (6G) Future Industry Pilot Zone located in Xiaoshan Special Cooperation Park in Hangzhou High-tech Zone (Binjiang) as an example. It focuses on six major technical directions: terahertz communication, visible light communication, satellite-ground integration networking, intelligent metasurface, super large-scale antenna, and network endogenous intelligence. It takes as the core the internal cultivation, interconnection, and external introduction of key universities, institutes, and enterprises in the 6G field, to strive to bring together 30 leading companies in the industrial chain by 2025, achieve an output value of more than 5 billion yuan, and achieve a series of standards, patents, and institutional achievements.

It is learned that the first batch of pilot zones was independently applied by counties (cities, districts), reviewed and recommended by districts and cities, and finally determined after expert review. According to the Guiding Opinions on the Construction of Future Industry Pilot Zones in Zhejiang Province, the province will build about 30 future industry pilot zones with distinctive features and leading development by 2025, which will become a key strategic direction of local industrial planning and an important indicator of regional scientific and technological innovation and comprehensive strength.