S China's Dongguan builds innovation environment

Huang Xuejie, deputy director of the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, introduces the lab to visitors. (People's Daily Online/Huangfu Wanli)

Dongguan city in south China's Guangdong Province has set 2023 goals for major economic indicators, including a GDP growth of between 5.5 and 6 percent, value-added output of industries above a designated size at 6 percent, and spending on research and development (R&D) as a percentage of the city's GDP at around 4 percent.

Dongguan plans to bring the total number of national-level high-tech enterprises in the city to 9,500 within the year, and to 10,000 as soon as possible.

To achieve these goals, the city must take actions to unleash the great potential of innovation and boost its manufacturing sector.

The Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory in Dongguan is a magnet for sci-tech talent and provides a sound environment for innovation.

Huang Xuejie, deputy director of the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, said with a total investment of more than 5 billion yuan ($726 million), the laboratory has a planned area of 1,200 mu (80 hectares) and its first phase occupies about 400 mu.

By making use of research facilities, including the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) and the Southern Advanced Photon Source, the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory plans to promote frontier basic research, strengthen top-level design, and build a complete innovation chain that covers basic scientific discoveries, key technological breakthroughs and industrial applications.

The Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory hopes to become a globally influential new material R&D base and an important part of the country's research on material science.