Pan Fusheng, a deputy to the National People's Congress, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and chairman of Chongqing Association for Science and Technology, has suggested when attending NPC&CPPCC that “There are 68 colleges and universities in Chongqing under the 211 Program and 985 Project, more than 550 central and local scientific research institutions and more than 1,100 enterprise R&D organizations; the number, scientific and technological resources and the output of military industrial enterprises and military-into-civilian enterprises account for more than 1/3 of the municipal total. It is of significant strategic importance for the country to build the national scientific and technological innovation center in Chongqing”.

Pan Fusheng has also pointed out that Chongqing is a municipality in central and western China, a central city in central and western China approved by the State Council and the “two-point” and “two-place” city as positioned by the central government. It shoulders the historic responsibility to lead the reform and development of west       China and building of a moderately wealthy society in the region. It has exclusive advantages and characteristics in resource endowment, military and civilian integration and capital centralization and guidance. At the same time, Chongqing is also a major city of nonferrous metals processing industry. The aluminum processing industry, as represented by Southwest Aluminum (Group) Co., Ltd. is the guaranteeing base of materials used for the aerospace industry of China , and is also a manufacturing base of high-precision aluminum plate strip and foil, and the aluminum export & processing base of China . Besides, the National Aluminum Alloy Engineering and Technological Research Center and a number of domestically leading magnesium alloy processing and deep processing enterprises are situated in Chongqing. The products involve areas such as aerospace, military equipment and lightweight of automobiles.      

 “Chongqing is not only leading the country in the nonferrous material processing sector; it is also a city with relatively concentrated sci-tech innovation resources for military and civilian integration.” Pan Fusheng said to reporters. He added that since 2017, the central government had been accelerating implementation of the Outline of National Innovation-driven Development Strategy, the construction of national scientific centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Hefei had been successively approved. This was the starting point of the significant strategic layout that is aimed to “optimize the regional innovation layout and create regional economic growth poles”. “On the whole, China has a vast territory; however, there are only a few scientific and technological innovation centers. This is far from enough. Particularly, no city in the central and western China has been appraised as the national center for scientific and technological innovation.”

Over the years, Pan Fusheng, as chairman of Chongqing Association for Science and Technology, Pan Fusheng has been devoted to driving the development of scientific and technological innovation of central and western China, with Chongqing as the center. He plays a very important role in driving the extensive application of magnesium alloy. The “National Research  Center for Magnesium Alloy Engineering Technology”, founded under the lead of Pan, is one of the domestic platforms named after magnesium alloy, and is also one of the larger magnesium research organizations in the world. Utilizing resources of Chongqing University, and the numerous magnesium alloy processing enterprises in Chongqing, the Research Center has made contributions to the development of magnesium alloy sheet and section for automobiles and the magnesium alloy automobile foundry in China , with considerable international market share and influence obtained. As a result, magnesium alloy parts are now widely used in the automobile industry.

 “It is of great significance for balanced development of different regions of China to promote the scientific and technological level of central and western China. It is also a guarantee of higher competitiveness of west China . Chongqing has a complete combination of industrial categories, favorable geological location and satisfactory accessibility. There are many advantageous enterprises here.” Pan Fusheng told the reporters. As such, a scientific center built in Chongqing would someway contribute to rapid development of strategic emerging industries in west China , and would add to the importance of Chongqing and western China in the industrial domain and innovation pattern of the entire China and even in the entire world. It will also cultivate industrial leading enterprises with international influence and expedite emergence of a number of innovation-oriented industrial clusters with great potential and considerable driving power.

Pan Fusheng has suggested that the central government and the State Council back up the construction of a national center for scientific and technological innovation with emphasis laid on comprehensive scientific center and national technological innovation center in Chongqing. In addition, a number of new high-tech R&D and technological innovation organizations focusing on intelligence, ecological protection, and environment control and advanced manufacturing should be built, and the central institutions in Chongqing and local institutions of Chongqing should be further governed. Besides, the West China Academy of Sciences should be rebuilt to drive building of a number of scientific innovation platforms in Chongqing and expedite uprising of western China and balanced development of scientific and technological innovation in China .

Source: China Nonferrous Metals