New key labs on healthcare, green energy to be built in SW China

This photo taken on April 11, 2024 shows a control center of a waste heat and energy utilization power generation project at a power branch of Pangang Group in Panzhihua City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Haofu)

CHENGDU, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Sichuan Province in southwest China unveiled on Wednesday a list of eight new key laboratories to be built with neighboring Chongqing Municipality, a move to boost scientific and technological development in southwest China.

The announcement follows a rigorous evaluation process aimed at advancing regional scientific cooperation and technological breakthroughs, according to the Sichuan Provincial Department of Science and Technology.

Under the Sichuan-Chongqing joint innovation initiative, the laboratories, spanning fields from healthcare and clean energy to advanced manufacturing and smart agriculture, are designed to leverage the strengths of leading universities, research institutes, and enterprises across both regions.

Notable projects include the pathology diagnosis laboratory, the hydrogen energy production, storage and utilization laboratory, the smart mountain agriculture laboratory, and the digital transportation and safety laboratory.

In recent years, the southwestern region, spearheaded by Sichuan and Chongqing, has emerged as a new sci-tech hub as China is reshaping its vast western areas with the goal of creating a new super-region.

The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, in particular, is expected to represent western China's new growth engine driven by sci-tech innovations.