Representatives of the 16 project agreements signed at the ceremony [Photo by Chen Lin/For english.liangjiang.gov.cn]

The Life Technologies City was unveiled on April 25 at the Yuelai International Conference Center in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area.

Agreements for 16 projects were signed at the unveiling ceremony, involving China's hospitals, medical technology companies and pharmaceutical companies and featuring a total investment of 17.82 billion yuan ($2.72 billion).

The Liangjiang Life Technologies City will develop the local medical industry by focusing on three fields – medical equipment, biological products and chemical agents, aiming to cultivate a new growth pole and upgrade of the city's industry. The project will develop the life science industry into the third pillar industry of Liangjiang New Area, according to the plan. The first and second largest industries in Liangjiang are automobiles and electronics, which are also the leading industries of Chongqing.

Zhou Xiaohong, chairman of Dadi Industry, told the press that the Life Science Park in Shuitu New City, Chongqing Liangjiang New Area has already attracted 150 high-tech medical enterprises. "We plan to bring in more leaders in the biomedical field and help Chongqing build a strong and globally renowned life and health industry," he said.

A special policy supporting the development of the local life and health industry was also issued at the ceremony. The policy aims to subsidize pharmaceutical R&D with the maximum award of 54 million yuan, new service platforms establishment with a maximum of 80 million yuan, and top-tier research teams with a maximum of 100 million yuan.

Chen Runsheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Science, joined the signing ceremony with his new drug program. "Nucleic acid vaccines and nucleic acid drugs are at the cutting-edge of global pharmacy and are the focus of our key project implemented in Liangjiang, which we hope produces impressive results," he said.

By 2025, the life and health sector in Liangjiang is expected to be worth 50 billion yuan, with 20 billion yuan in industrial output, 25.5 billion yuan in pharmaceutical trade and circulation revenue, and 4.5 billion yuan in R&D service revenue. By 2035, the new area is expected to gather over 100 medical enterprises and over 1,000 medical equipment enterprises, making it an important part of China's medical industry.

Shuitu New City is at the heart of the medical industry in Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, housing about 300 medical-related service enterprises and several billion-yuan biomedical companies. [Photo by Zhang Kunkun/For english.liangjiang.gov.cn]