In 2025, Jiangsu made greater efforts to deeply integrate technological innovation with industrial innovation, and continued to build Jiangsu into an industrial technology innovation center with global influence. Jiangsu secured new progress in innovation-driven development and new results in industrial development, striving to be a pacesetter in developing new quality productive forces in light of local conditions.
Industrial Development
In 2025, the value added of Jiangsu’s industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.5% year-on-year, with a growth rate higher than the national average for the seventh consecutive year. The high-quality development index of the manufacturing industry hit 89.0, ranking first nationwide for five consecutive years. The level of integration of industrialization and digital transformation reached 71.2, ranking first in the country for 11 consecutive years.
Development of the modern industrial system accelerated. Efforts were made to upgrade traditional industries and improve the quality and efficiency of key industries. Three textile brands in Jiangsu have been included in the 2025 World’s 500 Most Influential Brands. Various competitive products from Jiangsu’s iron and steel industry have been used in major projects such as the C919 passenger jet and Hualong One reactor, and the output of new energy vehicles in the province maintained a leading position nationwide. Efforts were made to accelerate the development of strategic emerging industrial clusters with international competitiveness. The scale of emerging industries such as integrated circuits, bio-pharmaceuticals, power batteries, new power equipment, energy conservation and environmental protection, and marine engineering equipment ranked first in the country. Efforts were made to cultivate and develop future industries, advance pilot programs for the early-stage agglomeration and development of these industries, and the first 18 future industry (technology) research institutes of Jiangsu Province were accredited. Emerging fields such as synthetic biology, 6G mobile communications, and green hydrogen are gradually becoming new growth engines.
Industrial cluster development maintained a leading position nationwide. We continued to advance the development of the “1650” industrial system (namely, 16 advanced manufacturing clusters and 50 key industrial chains which Jiangsu pledged to develop during the 14th Five-Year Plan period), thoroughly implemented the “Eight Major Actions” for building Jiangsu Province into a manufacturing hub, and accelerated the development of an advanced manufacturing base with international competitiveness. The revenue scale of the 16 key advanced manufacturing clusters accounts for approximately 75% of the output value of industrial enterprises above designated size, with a cumulative total of 14 clusters selected as national advanced manufacturing clusters, the highest number nationwide, achieving full coverage across all 13 prefecture-level cities.
Industrial innovation capabilities continued to improve. Efforts were made to develop innovation platforms and support three national manufacturing innovation centers in conducting research and development (R&D) on key technologies. We have established an additional 806 provincial enterprise technology centers, three provincial manufacturing innovation centers, and 24 provincial manufacturing pilot platforms. Leading enterprises were supported to spearhead collaborative research with upstream and downstream entities across the industrial chain, continuously promoting the transformation and application of innovation results.
Industrial transformation and upgrading was implemented in depth. Efforts were made to advance the five major actions of the traditional industry revitalization project, namely, eliminating backward capacity, renewing outdated facilities, green transformation, product upgrading, and layout optimization. The industrial structure continued to be optimized, and the leading positions of traditional industries such as metallurgy, petrochemicals, machinery, textiles, light industry, and building materials in the global industrial layout were continuously consolidated. Large-scale equipment renewal and technical transformation was pushed forward. Wuxi City was selected as a pilot city for the second batch of national new manufacturing technology transformation projects.
Steady progress was made in intelligent upgrading, digital transformation, and network connectivity. A new three-year action plan (2025-2027) for intelligent upgrading, digital transformation, and network connectivity in the manufacturing sector was launched. Two national leading intelligent factories, 43 national excellence-level intelligent factories, and 91 5G factories were added, while 1,808 factories were recognized as provincial advanced-level intelligent factories. Xuzhou and Nantong were selected as pilot cities for the third batch of national digital transformation initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and 22 counties (county-level cities, or districts) were selected to carry out provincial-level pilot programs for SME digital transformation.
Green and low-carbon transformation reached a new level. Efforts were made to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction among manufacturing enterprises across the province, exceeding the target for reducing energy consumption intensity set in the 14th Five-Year Plan. Green manufacturing has achieved improvements in quality and scale, with 334 national green factories and 19 national green industrial parks added. At the provincial level, Jiangsu was the first province in China to launch the cultivation of zero-carbon (or near-zero-carbon) factories, and the first batch of 30 provincial-level zero-carbon (or near-zero-carbon) factories has been announced.
Technological Innovation
In 2025, Jiangsu Province became an integral part of the national strategy of building the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center. Jiangsu’s regional innovation capability ranked second nationwide, with R&D investment intensity reaching approximately 3.38% of its GDP, and ownership of high-value invention patents standing at 34.2 per 10,000 people. The output value of high-tech industries accounted for 52.1% of the total output value of industrial enterprises above designated size. Significant progress has been made in establishing an industrial technology innovation center with global influence.
Strategic scientific and technological development achieved a new leap. The Suzhou Laboratory moved from a preparatory phase to a development phase in line with high standards, and the Institute of AI for Industries, Chinese Academy of Sciences was officially approved for establishment. The Purple Mountain Laboratories completed the construction of the world’s first 6G field test network, and the Taihu Lake Laboratory’s 7,000-tonne “Future” test ship was launched. Approval was granted to restructure or build 44 national key laboratories, and the restructuring of the first batch of 63 provincial key laboratories was completed.
New breakthroughs were made in major scientific and technological achievements. We organized and implemented 45 provincial major science and technology special projects, 83 frontier technology R&D projects, and 63 key basic research projects. We accelerated the capability improvement of the three provincial basic science centers in physics, applied mathematics, and synthetic biology, and planned the development of a provincial biomedical basic research center. Two achievements made the 2025 list of “Top 10 Scientific Advances in China”, with Jiangsu-based institutions leading one project and participating in the other. The “Fendouzhe” full-ocean-depth manned submersible was included in the list of “2025 Global Top 10 Engineering Achievements”. The world’s first eight-millimeter large field-of-view two-photon microscope was successfully developed, and “Cangyuan”, the largest-diameter shield machine made in China, bored the longest tunnel under the Yangtze River.
Enterprise innovation capabilities were strengthened. In Jiangsu Province, there were over 61,000 high-tech enterprises, 94,000 small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises registered in the national database, 115 listed companies on the STAR Market, and 195 potential unicorn enterprises, all numbers ranking first nationwide. About 85% of R&D investment across the province came from enterprises, 89% of patents were created by enterprises, and nearly 80% of scientific and technological platforms and high-level innovation and entrepreneurship talent were in enterprises.
The reform of the science and technology system continued to deepen. Jiangsu took the lead nationwide in launching the “dual-high synergy” initiative linking high-tech zones and universities, supporting 18 high-tech zones and 37 universities in paired pilot programs. The Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Promoting the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements was newly revised. We carried out comprehensive pilot reforms for the integrated system and mechanism of education, science and technology, and human resources, and established a “special zone for applied basic research”.
The development of an innovation ecosystem gathered new momentum. We issued several measures to accelerate the development of the innovation ecosystem and support the robust growth of innovation enterprises, building a rainforest-style ecosystem that encourages innovation. We selected and hired 2,333 experts from universities and research institutions as deputy heads in charge of science and technology in enterprises, planned 15 PoCCs (Proof of Concept Centers), and built 45 benchmark incubators for “hardcore technologies”. Eight academicians from Jiangsu were newly elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and five foreign academicians were also elected.