Anhui's 'Silicon Valley' bolsters ties with Chinese university

The Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone – the Silicon Valley-like industrial zone in Hefei, capital of Anhui province – is welcoming new co-development opportunities with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

The 2021 Anhui government work report listed improving scientific and technological innovation capability as a priority and proposed building the "USTC Silicon Valley" for the first time to achieve this goal.

USTC is a major source of sci-tech innovation in Hefei. By building the USTC Silicon Valley, the provincial and the municipal government and the university will cooperate to support USTC teachers and alumni to start businesses and incubate their sci-tech achievements in USTC's surrounding area.

The Hefei high-tech zone will become the core area of the USTC Silicon Valley. The zone and USTC have been benefiting from mutual cooperation for years. Attracted to the zone's business environment, many USTC talents became tech entrepreneurs there, and their innovative achievements have turned the zone into a high-tech industrial cluster with unique competitiveness.

According to the zone's plan, the Hefei high-tech zone area of USTC Silicon Valley will include a sci-tech innovation belt around USTC and three sections for high-end R&D, incubation of sci-tech achievements and a sci-tech industrial cluster.

The local government will strengthen efforts in building a highland for innovation by speeding up the construction of the new USTC campus in the zone, enhancing financial support for sci-tech innovation and boosting the development of local scientific institutes.

Liu Qingfeng, a doctoral graduate of USTC, is one of the earliest USTC entrepreneurs in the zone. His company, iFLYTEK, is currently one of China's leading AI companies. Driven by iFLYTEK, China Speech Valley, China's first industrial park in the AI field, was established in the zone.

"If you have a dream and are eager to make it a reality, come here! We can work together and share our dreams in Hefei high-tech zone," Liu once said.

In addition to China Speech Valley, the Hefei high-tech zone also features a Quantum Center which is home to a number of quantum technology companies engaged in key tech fields such as quantum communication, quantum computing and quantum precision measurement.

Pan Jianwei, the top Chinese quantum scientist and executive vice-president of USTC, recalled: "When we came to the zone in 2009, they offered full support that has guaranteed the industrial application of quantum technology."

Professor Pan and his USTC team established China's first company that industrialized quantum technology in an entrepreneurship park in the zone.