Biomanufacturing: New Engine for High-Quality Development in Northwest China

"Currently, biomanufacturing is not only a 'new track' for the green transformation of the manufacturing industry, but also a 'main position' for cultivating new quality productive forces and a key field for reshaping the global industrial pattern," noted a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who also serves as deputy director of Gansu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. He added that the 15th Five-Year Plan proposals clearly put forward cultivating biomanufacturing as a new economic growth driver, endowing it with an unprecedented strategic height.

The committee member stated that the biomanufacturing industry is a typical representative of "green manufacturing" and "circular economy". Northwest China boasts multiple advantages for developing biomanufacturing, including prominent endowments of clean energy, solid foundations of raw material resources, sound industrial supporting conditions, abundant land and space elements, and obvious advantages in market hinterland, forming a unique foundation for industrial development.

Despite these distinct advantages, he acknowledged that the biomanufacturing industry in northwest China is still in its initial stage, facing multiple challenges. These include the lack of top-level design and special plans, leading to scattered resources that fail to form a synergy; poor connection between the innovation chain and industrial chain, weak pilot-scale test links, and difficulties in local transformation of achievements; insufficient factor guarantee, weak financial support, shortage of interdisciplinary talents, and imperfect review and supervision systems; and inadequate leading role of industrial clusters, low correlation among enterprises, and lack of leading projects in emerging tracks such as synthetic biology.

To accelerate the development of the biomanufacturing industry in northwest China, the committee member put forward several suggestions. Firstly, strengthen top-level design and incorporate northwest China into the national industrial layout. Secondly, focus on building transformation bases and support northwest China in striving to establish national pilot-scale test platforms. Thirdly, innovate industrial organization models and support the region in forming innovation consortia. Fourthly, improve the factor guarantee system and increase financial and policy support. Fifthly, promote regional coordination and linkage to build a characteristic biomanufacturing industrial system.

He emphasized that with the recent joint document issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission to promote the construction of biomanufacturing pilot-scale test capabilities, biomanufacturing has risen to become a strategic deployment for China to seize the global technological and industrial high ground. "It can be said that the window of opportunity for the development of the biomanufacturing industry has emerged, and seizing the layout at this time will surely inject strong momentum into the high-quality development of northwest China."