The fourth-largest provincial economy has set its goals for the next five years.

Recently, the 8th Plenary Session of the 15th Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee was held in Hangzhou. At this plenary session, the "Proposal of the Communist Party of China Zhejiang Provincial Committee on Formulating the 15th Five - Year Plan for the National Economic and Social Development of Zhejiang Province" was reviewed and adopted. The overall goal of Zhejiang Province during the 15th Five - Year Plan period is to "make decisive progress in building a common prosperity demonstration area through high - quality development and take the lead in presenting a vivid picture of basically realizing socialist modernization."

On the morning of November 15th, the Communist Party of China Zhejiang Provincial Committee held a press conference to introduce and interpret the spirit of the 8th Plenary Session of the 15th Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee. Tong Guili, the Party secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Science and Technology, said that "accelerating the construction of an innovative Zhejiang and developing new - quality productive forces according to local conditions is the core strategy for Zhejiang's high - quality development during the 15th Five - Year Plan period." During the 15th Five - Year Plan period, Zhejiang aims to achieve "one breakthrough" and "four basic constructions" in scientific and technological innovation.

"One breakthrough" means that by 2030, significant breakthroughs will be made in the construction of an innovative Zhejiang and the establishment of a modern industrial system, and the global competitiveness and influence of the high - tech innovation hub, advanced manufacturing base, and artificial intelligence innovation and development hub will be more prominent. "Four basic constructions" refer to the basic completion of building Zhejiang into a province strong in education, science and technology, talent, and a modern industrial system with Zhejiang characteristics.

Relevant contents of the local 15th Five - Year Plan proposals are being announced successively. Taking Zhejiang as an example, this plenary session proposed that "making decisive progress in building a common prosperity demonstration area through high - quality development and taking the lead in presenting a vivid picture of basically realizing socialist modernization" should be the development goal of Zhejiang during the 15th Five - Year Plan period.

This goal is not only qualitative but also has clear quantitative requirements. The "Proposal" mentioned that by 2030, the per capita regional GDP of Zhejiang will be close to the level of developed economies. This is considered a very important landmark indicator for achieving "decisive progress" and presenting a "vivid picture." To achieve this goal, the economic growth rate in the next five years is required to be maintained at around 5%.

Currently, scientific and technological innovation has become a new fulcrum for economic growth. Taking Zhejiang as an example, data shows that during the 14th Five - Year Plan period, the proportion of the added value of high - tech industries in the added value of industries above the designated size in Zhejiang increased by 7.19 percentage points compared with 2020, and the proportion of the added value of the "three new" economies in GDP increased to about 28.5%.

"No great input, no great output." In terms of R & D investment intensity, Zhejiang increased it from 2.77% in 2020 to 3.22% in 2024. Looking forward to the 15th Five - Year Plan, Zhejiang will further increase its efforts. The R & D investment intensity will reach about 3.5%, and the provincial investment in scientific and technological innovation will exceed 1 trillion yuan, supporting a significant leap in Zhejiang's economic strength, scientific and technological strength, and comprehensive competitiveness.

Artificial intelligence is considered the core variable for the future development of scientific and technological and industrial innovation. Since this year, many provinces across the country have intensively issued policy documents to promote the development of "artificial intelligence +", aiming to develop emerging industries related to artificial intelligence, promote technology to empower all industries, and cultivate new - quality productive forces. Zhejiang has also proposed on many occasions to build a global artificial intelligence innovation and development hub.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five - Year Plan, Zhejiang proposes to accelerate the construction of an artificial intelligence innovation and development hub, with three specific goals: First, leading the world in the core technologies and industrial applications of general artificial intelligence; second, cultivating a number of artificial intelligence enterprises with global competitiveness and influence; third, achieving an operating income of 1.2 trillion yuan in the core artificial intelligence industries above the designated size in the province.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Urban Evolution Theory", author: Yang Huan. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.