During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–25), Guiyang National High-tech Industrial Development Zone (Guiyang HIDZ) in Southwest China's Guizhou province pressed ahead with an innovation-driven development strategy, overcoming a complex macroeconomic environment to achieve a historic leap in overall strength.
From 2021 to 2025, the zone's national ranking rose from 42nd to 36th while its number of high-tech enterprises ultimately reached 314 – ranking first in Guizhou province. A total of 149 new research and development institutions and platforms were added, significantly enhancing innovation vitality.
Industrial upgrading has been the main battlefield of development. Guiyang HIDZ has focused on building a modern industrial system, strengthening its two leading sectors – electronic information manufacturing and advanced equipment manufacturing – while cultivating new energy vehicles as a distinctive industry. High-tech manufacturing and strategic emerging industries have steadily increased their respective shares of industrial output, improving the resilience and risk resistance of the industrial system.
Driven by leading enterprises, the zone has formed three major industrial ecosystems covering aviation engines, micro and special motors, and electronic information manufacturing. These now bring together 58 core enterprises, with leading industries consistently accounting for more than 80 percent of total industrial output and contributing over 60 percent of the output value of industries above designated size, becoming the key engines of high-quality growth.
Meanwhile, the zone has moved to seize opportunities in the low-altitude economy, a strategic emerging industry. It is fostering new drivers of productivity by focusing on fixed-wing aircraft and heavy-load unmanned aerial vehicles, building a "3+2+1" industrial fund system, attracting application-oriented enterprises, and exploring an "eastern China R&D + high-end manufacturing + province-wide application" model.
Innovation remains the primary growth engine. During the five-year period, the value of technology contract transactions grew at an average annual rate of 6.4 percent, while a total of 149 new R&D platforms were established.
Guizhou Science City, the core innovation carrier of the zone, expanded its footprint and adopted a new spatial layout, bringing together major research institutes and leading enterprises.
It now hosts 28 national-level research platforms, 85 provincial-level innovation platforms, and 25 pilot-scale testing facilities, forming a full-chain innovation system spanning basic research, applied development, and commercialization.
To deepen industry–university–research collaboration, the zone strengthened its cooperation with educational and other institutions such as Tsinghua University, Central South University, and Southern University of Science and Technology, introducing 23 innovation and entrepreneurship teams and promoting a "problems raised by enterprises, solutions delivered by research institutes" model.
Channels for transforming scientific and technological achievements have been further streamlined. The zone has built an integrated service system for technology transfer, set up 27 rapid-response stations across the province, and formed 50 technical task teams. More than 400 technology managers have supported the activation of dormant patents, while skilled workers' innovations have been translated into scalable products.
Talent development has been prioritized as a strategic pillar. Over the past five years, the zone has attracted more than 11,000 industry professionals, including over 1,200 high-level talents, and supported the employment and entrepreneurship of more than 4,000 graduates from outside the province. Training mechanisms combining universities and enterprises have been expanded, along with comprehensive platforms for skills development and practical training.
To retain talent, the zone has improved its living and working environment by providing talent apartments, affordable rental housing, and supportive policies covering funding, services, and career development. A series of institutional innovations has further optimized the talent ecosystem, creating an environment where professionals are eager to come and stay.