Research body to implement, push national strategies
The Xipu New Era Development Research Institute at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is expected to become a new type of think tank to bolster the implementation of national strategies and the transformation of regional economy, according to the university.
Founded by the XJTLU, China Development Bank and the Suzhou government in early May, the institute is carrying out research in fields including the Belt and Road Initiative, the international innovation ecosystem, the creation of a modern green society, and regional economic and social improvement.
The institute will conduct social experiments in these fields with government support and cooperation with companies and financial institutions, said Xi Youmin, executive president of the XJTLU.
In April, the XJTLU signed a cooperation agreement with the Xi’an government to set up an international innovation ecological hub as a pilot area in the Shaanxi provincial capital, focusing on new economy and the artificial intelligence, internet of things and intelligent manufacturing industries.
Universities have to interact with society and businesses, and put theory into practice, Xi said. “The institute aims to provide a replicable template for China’s future urban and social development.”
Last month, the institute signed an agreement with the Suzhou Tihu Ecological Fund Management Center and the Suzhou Tihu Ecological International Corporate Alliance to aid in the development of the pilot area.
Yu Hong, president of the Suzhou Tihu Ecological Fund Management Center, said it will oversee the area’s management of capital, development, mergers and acquisitions, and financial planning.
“The process of bringing
The institute aims to provide a replicable template for China’s future urban and social development.”
Xi Youmin, executive president of XJTLU
theory into practice is complicated and it requires financial service institutions and industry alliances to provide different support at different stages,” Yu said.
She said the center and corporate alliance need to design a sustainable strategic plan based on the theory and then implement it in a pilot area through joint efforts between businesses and financial institutions.
The AI industry needs scientists and talented professionals to come up with breakthrough ideas that can be scaled for production, Yu said. “So we have to gather innovative resources and capital investment to commercialize and industrialize their research results.”
The institute has also reached a cooperation consensus with Suzhou Industrial Park to combine the social governance experience of the park with the institute’s research on a modern green society. The partners hope that the project will create a better governance template for the future development of society.
In addition, the institute is conducting research on the creation of an international common market zone related to the Belt and Road Initiative which it plans to test in the city of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province and Georgia at the boundary of Europe and Asia.