In the Chinese mainland's Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, Zhongguancun in Beijing pulses with innovation. Despite covering less than four percent of the city's land, this hub contributes roughly a third of Beijing's GDP, setting the pace for high-quality development in 2025.
This year, more than 200 homegrown large language models have been nurtured here—almost 30 percent of the national total—while breakthroughs in quantum science and artificial intelligence are reshaping what's possible.
Innovation entities are thriving: over 90 unicorns now call this area home, driving industrial upgrading. For the first time, Zhongguancun-based firms are set to surpass 10 trillion yuan in combined revenue by the end of 2025.
Back in September 2013, the Political Bureau of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee held its first study session in Zhongguancun. General Secretary and President Xi Jinping urged innovators to seize new tech revolution opportunities—advising that "we must not wait, we must not stand idly by, and we must not slack off."
Under the 14th Five-Year Plan, Beijing has aligned its strengths in sci-tech with Tianjin’s manufacturing prowess and Hebei’s appetite for industrial transfer. This strategy is unfolding from Huairou Science City—where the High Energy Photon Source readies for trial operation—to the launch of 145 national key labs and 10 new research institutions across the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region.
With R&D spending near six percent of GDP, Beijing topped the Science Center dimension in the 2025 International Science and Technology Innovation Center Index, reinforcing its role as a global innovation magnet.
Three trillion-yuan clusters are already up and running in next-generation IT, sci-tech services, and medical care, alongside 700-billion-yuan ecosystems in intelligent manufacturing and AI. From January to November, output in strategic emerging industries surged 16.5 percent year on year.
Collaboration is key: over 220 joint research projects link Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, while an intelligent connected vehicle “one-hour circle” integrates 300 component suppliers across the region. The pattern of "R&D in Beijing, transformation in Tianjin and Hebei" is taking shape.
At the recent Central Economic Work Conference, leaders expanded the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center to cover the entire region, marking a shift from isolated breakthroughs to a new era of integrated, cross-regional innovation.
As Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei drive toward a world-class sci-tech innovation center, this collaborative blueprint offers a glimpse of how coordinated strategies can fuel the next wave of global technology leadership.
Reference(s):
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei sci-tech innovation embarks on a new drive
cgtn.com