In the golden autumn of September, the drive for progress is in full swing.

In the Yunnan Dian Zhong New Area, the numerous tower cranes seem to be outlining the blueprint of development, the production lines in the workshops are pulsating like the veins of innovation, and key project construction sites bustling with the roar of machinery and the constant flow of transport vehicles. A surging wave of enthusiasm for “boosting the economy and accelerating progress” is palpable everywhere... This is one of the regions in Yunnan Province with the best development conditions and the greatest development potential, and it is charging ahead on the track of industrial upgrading with the drive of "not wasting a single day".

Since its approval for establishment by China's State Council, Yunnan Dian Zhong New Area has achieved a leapfrog development from 46 billion yuan to 117 billion yuan in economic scale. With a pioneering spirit of “be a trailblazer”, it has broken new ground in reshaping the business environment and cultivating new quality productive forces. It has filled gaps in multiple industries across the province, forging a distinctive practical path for high-quality development in West China.

Pioneering & Piloting: Releasing Reform Dividends through Innovative Management Systems

As a national-level new area, Dian Zhong New Area is tasked not only with “development” but also with “experimentation”. How can it activate its endogenous driving forces through institutional and mechanism innovation? The key to breaking ground lies in top-level design “reconstruction”. After the new area was approved in 2015, the provincial party committee and the provincial government broke the ice with a three-tier structure of “provincial decision-making and leadership, independent establishment of the new area, and integrated urban-district development”: at the provincial level, they strengthened the “baton” of overall coordination and granted the new area autonomous decision-making power; Kunming Municipal Government listed the planning and construction of the new area as its “top priority project”, promoting "a unified whole" planning to coordinate space, "a unified network" to connect elements, and integrated "one-stop" industrial chains, thus solving the problem of “two separate entities between the city and the district”. This design enabled the new area to hit the ground running right from its establishment. With the deepening of the reform, the management system reform of “delegating power, enabling capabilities, and assigning responsibilities” launched in 2022 was a bold breakthrough that addressed issues of “overlapping functions and unclear responsibilities”. The management functions shifted from single economic services to comprehensive economic and social coordination, promoting the efficient allocation of resources and elements...

SINOPHARM GROUP YUNNAN CO.,LTD.

Over the past decade, with reform and innovation as its engine, Yunnan Dian Zhong New Area has driven a series of industrial breakthroughs “from 0 to 1”: it successfully introduced Kangle Weishi (Kunming) Biotechnology Co., Ltd., the first recombinant vaccine project in Yunnan Province. The HPV trivalent vaccine produced by the company fills the gap in the province’s recombinant protein vaccine industry and is expected to be launched for sale this year; the “Smart Factory” of Sinopharm Kunming Plasma-derived Biotherapies Co., Ltd. has trial-produced Human Prothrombin Complex Concentrate (HPCC), helping Yunnan’s biomedical industry move towards the high end; the first 12-inch silicon-based micro-display module production line in China by BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. has been successfully put into operation, breaking foreign technological monopolies and seizing the commanding heights of the new display industry; Yunnan Shanshan New Material Co., Ltd. has invested in building the world’s largest single-unit lithium battery anode material integrated factory, establishing a full industrial chain of “Graphitization—Anode Materials—PIP (Product In Package)”...

These groundbreaking achievements with the titles of “first” and “largest” are like dazzling pearls embedded in the development blueprint of Dian Zhong New Area. They are not only “catalysts” for institutional innovation to activate development momentum but also “masterpieces” of industrial upgrading to cultivate new quality productive forces, silently telling the inspiring story of daring exploration and striving for excellence on this land.

Kangle Weishi (Kunming) Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Reform for Efficiency: Creating a “Strong Magnetic Field” for High-Quality Development

On a 773-mu land in the eastern part of Dianzhong Science City, the Haiguangxing ASEAN-Yunnan Fresh Fruit Processing and Trading Center project with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan is accelerating its progress.

“It took only one day from land acquisition to the start of construction. This efficiency far exceeded our expectations!” Xu Zheng, Chairman of Kunming Haiguangxing Market Operation and Management Co., Ltd., said excitedly. “When we first connected with the project in May 2024, we were worried that the approval process would ‘get stuck’. Unexpectedly, after signing the investment agreement in August and bidding on the land on November 20, construction machinery entered the site the next day—the ‘Four Certificates Concurrent Issuance’ model implemented by Dian Zhong New Area has completely refreshed our perception of the ‘New Area Speed’!”

Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Haiguangxing ASEAN-Yunnan Fresh Fruit Processing and Trading Center Project

In the past, enterprises often faced the hassle of “going to multiple departments, submitting numerous materials, and enduring long cycles” when handling project approvals. The entire process was time-consuming, which to some extent affected the efficiency of project implementation. To tackle this tough issue, Dian Zhong New Area launched a set of “combined policies”: it "bundled" and integrated the three key stages of project approval, namely land acquisition, engineering planning, and construction permits, and organized a “project service team” composed of key personnel from departments such as approval management, natural resources & planning, and housing & urban rural development. The team "stationed at enterprises" three months in advance to provide services. What surprised the enterprises even more was that they could obtain the construction permit as soon as the land was acquired. The approval links that originally required “relay running” were transformed into a “green channel” for “parallel sprinting”, enabling the Haiguangxing Project to achieve “seamless connection” from land acquisition to construction start.

This reform courage of “keeping difficulties for ourselves and offering convenience to enterprises” is a vivid footnote to Dian Zhong New Area’s activation of development momentum through institutional innovation.

Opening Ceremony of the Zhongguancun BEZ (Kunming) Digital Economy Technology Industrial Park

Over the past decade, this “New Area Speed” has been continuously updated. The people of the New Area have embraced a sense of urgency, adhering to the principle that “even a day’s delay is too late, while early action today is never too soon”. They have spared no effort, racing against time, actively pursuing projects and vying to provide services. As a result, over 100 provincial-level approval authorities have been genuinely delegated to the New Area, enabling local handling of matters within its jurisdiction. Additionally, 219 designated enterprise liaisons have been assigned to connect with 133 “Above-Scale” enterprises, 131 “Near-Scale” enterprises, and 78 key projects, offering tailored, on-site services. They have successfully addressed 207 urgent and pressing issues for businesses, including workforce recruitment, permit processing, financing, and production expansion, achieving a 100% satisfaction rate among enterprises. This year, Dian Zhong New Area has further upgraded its “Director Fixed Consultation” initiative to “Director On-Site Visit”, with department heads visiting enterprises to address complaints and solve problems directly.

The optimization of the business environment has translated into tangible economic growth.

In 2024, the total number of market entities in Dian Zhong New Area approached 140,000, marking an 8.4% year-on-year increase. In the directly administered area of the New Area, the number of market entities reached 23,000, up by 13.7% from the previous year.

Dian Zhong New Area Science and Technology Innovation Service Center

Industrial Renewal: A “Pioneering Model” for Cultivating New Quality Productive Forces According to Local Conditions

“When I first arrived in Kunming in 2018, this place was still a construction site 12 kilometers away from Kunming Changshui International Airport. When we were soliciting investments, enterprises always said, ‘Let’s wait and see.’” Pan Delong, Executive Deputy General Manager of Zhongguancun BEZ (Kunming) Digital Economy Technology Industrial Park, recalled. Now, his phone has become a “hotline”, with nearly 370 projects in fields such as new energy resources, biological medicine, advances materials, and low-altitude economy coming one after another—this once “wait-and-see” industrial park has grown into a hotbed of industrial agglomeration. Pan’s experience is a vivid microcosm of how the Dianzhong New Area of Yunnan is forging a distinctive path to cultivate new quality productive forces.

In recent years, aligning with the requirements of the provincial Party committee and the provincial government to “strive to become an important engine for high-quality economic development and take the lead in Yunnan’s modernization drive”, Dian Zhong New Area has adhered to the strategy of “focusing on industries and giving priority to manufacturing”, continuously promoted the “Industry-Strengthened District” strategy, accelerated the growth of emerging industries such as biological medicine, electronic information, advanced materials, and aviation. Simultaneously, it is actively fostering future industries, including intelligent and connected vehicles and the low-altitude economy. It is committed to building a source of innovation for modern industries and has forged a distinctive path for cultivating new quality productivity according to local conditions.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) under research and development

Based on its regional advantages and resource endowments, Dian Zhong New Area has precisely drawn an industrial chain map to promote the industrial upgrade towards the high end of the value chain. Centering around advanced air-linked manufacturing and modern aviation service industries, it has introduced leading enterprises such as China Express Airlines and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. (COMAC), forming an industrial ecosystem of “leading enterprises driving chain-based agglomeration”; it has also laid out future industries such as intelligent connected vehicles and low-altitude economy with a forward-looking vision. The Future Transport Science City has gathered new research institutions such as the Shandong University Yunnan Research Institute, the Future Traffic Innovation Research Institute (FTIR), and the Kongtian Zhixing Science and Technology Innovation Park, building an innovation closed loop of “research and development - transformation - application”.

To activate the momentum of industrial upgrading, Dian Zhong New Area has made efforts in three directions: innovation platform construction, high-end talent introduction and cultivation, and scientific and technological achievement transformation. A total of 306 enterprises have applied for 4,041 patents, with 2,286 patents authorized, and 190 enterprises have been recognized as national “little giant” enterprises in specialized, refined, and new fields.

To enable enterprises to “operate with ease” and projects to “accelerate implementation”, over the past decade, Dian Zhong New Area has continuously built a full-chain element support system. It has achieved “construction start upon land acquisition” through the supply of “standard land”, provided precise support through “industrial funds + credit support”, eliminated worries through “talent apartments + subsidies”, and offered efficient services through “enterprise-stationed special envoys + green channels”. Thus, the approval time for key projects has been compressed by 60%.

A decade of reform path, a time of striving forward. By breaking new ground through institutional innovation, laying a solid foundation with an improved business environment, and gathering strength through industrial upgrading, Dian Zhong New Area is running at “top speed” on the track of high-quality development in the new era!