Scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation are the fundamental pathways for developing new quality productive forces. As a major economically developed province with prominent strengths in science and education, Sichuan possesses distinct advantages in promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. In 2023, during an inspection tour in Sichuan, General Secretary Xi Jinping, with a view to the national strategic landscape and the actual conditions of the province, made important instructions, including "making efforts on both sci-tech innovation and the application of scientific and technological achievements" and striving to build Sichuan into an "innovation hub in western China".

To fully implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions, Sichuan has, in recent years, focused on removing bottlenecks and obstacles in the development of new quality productive forces, promoting the deep integration of innovation chains, industrial chains, capital chains, and talent chains, and accelerating the transformation of industry-university-research integration from "physical contact" to "chemical reaction".

Reform as a Catalyst for Stimulating Integration Efficiency

On Chengdu's North Second Ring Road, the 26-story SWJTU Innovation Building stands out as the home of the National University Science and Technology Park of Southwest Jiaotong University.

Entering the conference room on the 13th floor, one finds three documents hanging on the wall: the first university-level reform document in China granting ownership of job-related scientific and technological achievements to researchers; the first decision document by a grassroots Party committee promoting the reform of ownership rights over job-related scientific and technological achievements; and the first agreement on the division of ownership of job-related scientific and technological achievements in China. "This was the starting point of the 'Science and Technology Xiaogang Village' reform," said Kang Kaining, General Manager of Southwest Jiaotong University Research Institute (Chengdu) Co., Ltd.

In 2016, Southwest Jiaotong University fired the "first shot" in the national reform of mixed ownership of job-related scientific and technological achievements. This approach of "rights confirmation before transformation"—providing ex-ante intellectual property incentives—solved the problem of researchers being unwilling to transfer their achievements and greatly stimulated innovation enthusiasm.

From this starting point, the spark of reform in the ownership system of job-related scientific and technological achievements has been shining across the land of Bashu. In January 2024, Sichuan issued the Implementation Plan for Comprehensively Deepening the Reform of the Ownership System of Job-Related Scientific and Technological Achievements, promoting the reform of separate management of job-related scientific and technological achievements as assets across the province. In 2025, Sichuan revised the Regulations of Sichuan Province on the Progress of Science and Technology and formulated the Sichuan Provincial Work Plan for Further Comprehensively Deepening the Scientific and Technological Structural Reform.

The reform is still ongoing. At the entrance of the 13th floor of SWJTU Innovation Building, a sign hangs that reads "Sichuan Rail Transit Pilot-Scale R&D Platform." "Unlike general pilot-scale platforms, we focus on improving the maturity of technologies," Kang Kaining said, expressing the hope that through corporate-style pilot-scale R&D institutions, more research achievements could be ripened for application. At this very site alone, the Southwest Jiaotong University Research Institute has incubated over 40 enterprises and facilitated the transformation of numerous scientific and technological achievements from the "bookshelf" to the "stack rack".

Innovation as the Engine to Cement the Foundation for Integration

Men Zhengxing, a professor at Chengdu Aeronautic Polytechnic University, recently took on a new role—Deputy Chief for Technology at Chengdu Xinshan Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. A year ago, Xinshan Aerospace was in urgent need of a solution for the precision forming of 3D metal parts. As it happened, Men Zhengxing held relevant patents. The two sides quickly came together. By optimizing digital simulation technology, they built a system of 3D printing simulation parameters tailored to the company's equipment, improving printing precision by 12 percent.

Not long ago, Chengdu launched a program to select and appoint "Deputy Chiefs for Technology". Men Zhengxing transitioned from a technical collaborator at Xinshan Aerospace to a senior executive of the company and was granted 500,000 yuan in R&D funding. "In the past, we would transfer whatever technology we had. Now, we address whatever needs the enterprise has," Men Zhengxing said.

Channeling innovation resources toward enterprises and aligning research topics with industrial needs helps solve the problem of the "two separate tracks" between the sci-tech sector and industry.

Feng Zhenyu, CEO of Sichuan Embodied Humanoid Robotics Technology Co., Ltd., explained that the humanoid robot industry chain is long and technologically challenging, making it difficult to achieve breakthroughs across the entire chain by going it alone. In July last year, the Sichuan Humanoid Robot Manufacturing Innovation Center was established, with member units including enterprises such as Sichuan Embodied Humanoid Robotics Technology, as well as universities and research institutes such as Sichuan University and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Feng Zhenyu said that through joint research with universities, research institutes, and upstream and downstream enterprises, the company has made successive breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields such as emotional interaction, hardware, and joints.

Over the past year, Sichuan has achieved multiple breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields for addressing major national strategic needs and industrial pain points. These include the new-generation "artificial sun" Huanliu-3, which has for the first time achieved temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius for both atomic nuclei and electrons; the launch and orbit insertion of the world's first space computing satellite constellation; and the rollout of the world's most powerful single-unit direct-drive floating offshore wind turbine. These breakthroughs in original and disruptive technologies have provided a source of vitality and fundamental support for industrial upgrading.

Building an Ecosystem as the Foundation to Expand the Space for Integration

Recently, a science and technology innovation integration practice centered on "chief technology officers" was implemented in Sichuan, with 60 such professionals from across the country working at enterprises in Chengdu.

"This helps better cultivate the sci-tech innovation ecosystem," said Yang Mingliang, Vice President of the Automotive Engineering Research Institute of Southwest Jiaotong University and Executive Director of Sichuan Tianshun Power Technology Co., Ltd. He noted that the essence of deep industry-university-research integration lies in the deep convergence of talent, and that only by enabling talent to flow in both directions between academia and industry can we cultivate interdisciplinary talent capable of full-chain engineering implementation. "Students are no longer content with just learning from textbooks; they also care about real-world industry applications. As teachers, we need to integrate frontline experience into our teaching," Yang Mingliang said.

To strengthen the independent cultivation of talent, Sichuan has rolled out a set of coordinated measures. For key industrial chains, the province has introduced a special implementation plan for the introduction and cultivation of artificial intelligence talent. For the first time at the provincial level, measures such as strengthening the training system are being taken to enhance the effective supply of talent. The province's first sci-tech business school—the School of Business for Science &Technology of Sichuan University—has been established, dedicated to cultivating interdisciplinary sci-tech innovation talent with expertise in technology, industry, capital, markets, and management.

Platforms must also be strengthened. Sichuan has effectively built and made good use of various innovation platforms, such as national and provincial laboratories, large-scale scientific facilities, and innovation centers. It has also upgraded the Sichuan SciTech Connect platform. Moreover, around key industrial chains, it has been establishing proof-of-concept centers and pilot-scale maturation platforms to enhance the spillover effect of scientific and technological achievements.

Since last year, Sichuan has successfully landed the National Sci-Tech Innovation Collaborative Development Fund of Funds, the National Venture Capital S Fund, and the Sichuan Social Security Sci-Tech Innovation Fund. It has also supported Chengdu and Mianyang in deepening pilot reforms in sci-tech finance. Sichuan will also guide financial capital to invest in early-stage projects, small businesses, long-term initiatives, and hard technologies, fully leverage the role of various funds, and foster an open and inclusive environment that encourages innovation.