Zhejiang Social Insurance Science and Technology Innovation Fund was quickly registered, and the 50 billion yuan fund "aircraft carrier" officially set sail.
On November 19th, the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), jointly initiated by Zhejiang Province, the National Council for Social Security Fund, and the Agricultural Bank of China, successfully passed the filing with the Asset Management Association of China. This marks the official launch of the first science and technology innovation pilot equity investment fund resulting from the cooperation between the National Council for Social Security Fund and a local government in Zhejiang.
What's even more remarkable is its birth speed. From the industrial and commercial registration of the fund, to the full contribution of all partners, and then to the completion of the filing with the Asset Management Association of China, the entire process took only about two weeks. From the announcement of its establishment to the completion of the filing, it was also less than 25 days. The outside world described it as the "sprint launch" of a "50-billion-yuan aircraft carrier."
If scientific and technological innovation is likened to a long-term project that requires a decade or two of cultivation, then Zhejiang is embracing this patient capital in its consistent "long-term" approach.
The Landing of Patient Capital in Zhejiang
As the national equity investment market gradually emerges from adjustment and seeks new certainties, the National Council for Social Security Fund has made a clear directional choice: shifting from a greater focus on allocating to mature assets to more actively participating in scientific and technological innovation and industrial upgrading, and supporting new productive forces with long-term capital.
Over the past years, the national social security fund has been regarded as the "ballast stone" of the pension system. Stability, safety, and predictable returns are its key characteristics. Now, with the advancement of a series of national strategies such as "building a country strong in science and technology," "innovation-driven development," and "high-quality development of the capital market," this "ballast stone" has begun to assume new missions.
On the one hand, it is necessary to penetrate the increasingly long innovation cycle through more efficient capital allocation and provide funds that can truly "keep up with the cycle" for hard technologies and frontier technologies.
On the other hand, while supporting the real economy and scientific and technological innovation, it is also necessary to achieve the long-term preservation and appreciation of the fund itself through market-oriented operations.
Thus, the combination of "social security fund + financial institution + local funds" has begun to emerge as a new exploration direction for investment models. This approach neither abandons the requirement for safety nor shortens the investment horizon, and instead extends the time frame and broadens the perspective under controllable risks. The two 50-billion-yuan social security science and technology innovation mother funds established in Zhejiang and Jiangsu in quick succession are the "samples" that emerged under such a historical background.
The first stop chosen by the social security funds is Zhejiang, which has been in the field of government investment funds for 16 years.
As early as 2009, when many regions were still exploring the mechanism of government-guided funds, Zhejiang established a provincial venture capital guidance fund, starting to "divert water" for early-stage innovative enterprises by leveraging large amounts of capital with a small amount of fiscal funds. Since then, from the "Angel Dream Fund" targeting extremely early-stage projects, to the "Innovation Leading Fund" focusing on innovation sources, and then to the "4+1" industrial cluster fund and the provincial science and technology innovation mother fund launched in 2023 with a target total scale of over 72 billion yuan, Zhejiang's provincial government investment fund system has been supporting scientific and technological innovation and helping to cultivate distinctive innovative industrial clusters.
As of the end of June 2025, there were 147 government investment funds in the province, with a total scale of over 320 billion yuan, which also leveraged social capital to establish 1,259 sub-funds with a total scale of over 1.2 trillion yuan. Among them, the provincial government investment funds supported over 1,600 projects and over 100 listed companies, forming a mature capital network covering the early stage, growth stage, and merger and acquisition stages.
For a "national team" like the national social security fund, cooperating with a province that already has a mature fund ecosystem and clear institutional pathways is much more stable and efficient than building a new system from scratch. This is an important consideration for the social security funds to choose Zhejiang.
If we take a longer view, we will find that this is not a coincidence, but is in line with the pragmatic and pioneering cultural heritage of the people in Zhejiang.
For thousands of years, Zhejiang has almost always been at the forefront of China's commercial civilization and innovative forces.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin'an (now Hangzhou), as the capital, where the Qiantang River and the Grand Canal meet, created a unique urban temperament of "coexistence of lakes, mountains, and urban life."
Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, groups of Zhejiang merchants such as the Ningbo Gang, Shaoxing Shiyes, and Wenzhou merchants, carrying ledgers and goods, traveled between the rivers and the Maritime Silk Road, imprinting the spirit of "being the first to take action" into the regional character.
After the reform and opening up, the Yiwu Small Commodity Market, private manufacturing in Taizhou, and the financial reform in Wenzhou... waves of "grassroots innovation" have pushed Zhejiang to the forefront of the most active regions for private economy.
In the digital age, Zhejiang took the lead in proposing and continuously promoting the "No. 1 Project" of the digital economy, building a national experimental zone for the innovative development of the digital economy. The added value of the digital economy accounts for nearly 60% of the GDP, and "cloud business" has become the new common language in this region.
From the grain ships, silk, and ledgers by the canal to the high-speed flowing data, algorithms, and capital in the cloud today, what remains consistent in Zhejiang is the spirit of "being the first to act" and "being willing to take the long view."
Now, when a social security fund with the distinct label of "patient capital" starts to look for a new foothold, history and reality have naturally converged in Zhejiang. With a solid institutional foundation, rich cultural traditions, diverse capital tools, and real industries, this has provided a place where "patient capital" can take root with confidence.
How the 50-billion-yuan Mother Fund was "Assembled"
If "landing in Zhejiang" answers the question of "why here," then the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund, which completed the filing in two weeks, answers another question: How did Zhejiang assemble this multi-structured model of "national team + local + large bank" in a very short period of time and quickly put it into actual operation?
Behind this, on the one hand, there is the strong guidance of the provincial department of finance and the rapid coordination of multiple departments such as the provincial development and reform commission, the provincial department of science and technology, the provincial state-owned assets supervision and administration commission, the provincial administration for market regulation, the provincial local financial supervision and administration bureau, and the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau. On the other hand, it is the joint efforts of the fund contributors and the organizational ability of the Zhejiang Innovation Investment Group (hereinafter referred to as "Zhechuang Group"), as the leading party, to organize multi-party resources. It understands both the policy processes and the fund operations, and is also familiar with the decision-making rhythms of limited partners (LPs).
From the perspective of the composition of the contributors, this is a multi-level "network" covering the central government, local governments, and financial institutions. The National Council for Social Security Fund brings in national-level long-term funds and the requirement for "safety." The Agricultural Bank of China and its subsidiaries, ABC Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd. and ABC Capital, have both financial strength and diverse financial resources covering the whole country. Zhechuang Group and its subsidiary, Zhechuang Industrial Co., Ltd., are provincial-level financial investment platforms and hubs for government investment funds. The provincial state-owned assets contributors in Zhejiang have formed a close collaboration between state-owned assets and finance to jointly support scientific and technological innovation. Local platforms such as Hangzhou Capital and Ningbo Jin Investment link their respective industrial bases and regional project sources.
This structural design not only ensures the important position of social security funds in the fund governance but also fully mobilizes the enthusiasm of provincial-level, municipal-level, and financial institutions.
The Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund itself is a mother fund with a scale of 50 billion yuan. Using the mother fund as the "central hub," it formulates overall strategies around national strategies and the main directions of new productive forces. It adopts a "1+6" operation and management mechanism, with six special funds established to carry out investments according to different strategies, targeting major scientific and technological innovation, future industries, strategic emerging industries, mergers and acquisitions, and other fields, thus constructing a fund matrix covering different stages and strategies.
At the first work promotion meeting of the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund, Zhechuang Group clearly proposed to complete the establishment of the six special funds with different strategies as soon as possible and achieve the successful delivery of the first batch of projects to achieve a good start.
This means that in the top-level design, this mother fund in Zhejiang has an obvious "systematic" intention from the very beginning. Instead of making single-point investments, it aims to form a three-dimensional network of "fund group + industrial group" with complementary strategies together with the provincial "4+1" special funds, various venture capital funds, and industrial investment funds.
If the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund is likened to a 50-billion-yuan aircraft carrier, then Zhechuang Group is the main force on the bridge.
Public information shows that in addition to the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund, Zhechuang Group currently manages provincial government investment funds, the provincial science and technology innovation mother fund, and various special funds, with a cumulative management scale of nearly 170 billion yuan. It has both the ability to make direct investments in projects and rich experience in operating mother funds. In addition to fund investments, its business portfolio also includes financial equity management, digital technology, and ecological empowerment, forming a comprehensive "five-in-one" capability of "industrial investment + venture capital + finance + digital + ecology."
In the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund, it undertakes at least three roles:
(1) Fund manager: formulating the overall investment strategy of the fund, coordinating and promoting high-quality investments by the managers of each special fund, and integrating resources to give full play to the advantages of relevant parties such as LPs;
(2) Hub of the fund group: connecting the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund with the existing provincial "4+1" special funds and provincial government investment funds to form an investment synergy;
(3) Ecological service provider: based on the experience of investing in more than 1,600 enterprises and cooperating with more than 200 market-oriented investment institutions in fields such as advanced manufacturing and three major scientific and technological innovation highlands, providing comprehensive services such as investment and financing, industrial chain connection, and support for scientists' entrepreneurship to the invested enterprises.
What this reflects is also a Zhejiang-style policy environment. By using the model of "one hub platform + multiple market-oriented funds," it tries to integrate fiscal and state-owned assets resources, financial tools, and industrial policies into a network rather than managing them in a fragmented way.
If we go back more than a hundred years, when the Ningbo Gang was doing business in other regions, the most commonly used tool was "joint stock." Several family-owned businesses jointly contributed capital, divided dividends according to shares, and shared risks.
To some extent, the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund today is a modern version of this "joint stock spirit."
The National Council for Social Security Fund, Zhejiang Province, policy-based financial institutions, and local state-owned assets contribute capital together in the form of LPs. Managed by professional institutions and operating in accordance with market-oriented, legal, and professional principles, while fulfilling the investment returns of LPs, it strongly supports the development of the scientific and technological innovation industry, forming a positive cycle of "science and technology - finance - industry."
From the "joint stock business" of ancient business gangs to the coordinated operation of a mother fund with multiple contributors and transparent rules today, Zhejiang has always had its own way of "organizing scattered funds to do long-term business."
Implementation and Demonstration in "Innovative Zhejiang"
The significance of a mother fund lies in where it ultimately allocates the funds. For the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund, the answer is not just on the list of a few popular sectors, but more importantly, whether it can be in sync with the entire set of innovation and industrial policies being promoted in Zhejiang and provide a truly patient capital tool for this region.
According to the official statements, the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund focuses on investing in fields such as artificial intelligence, new-generation information technology, high-end equipment, new materials, and biomedicine, which are the core directions of the country's strategic emerging industries and new productive forces.
However, in the context of Zhejiang, this "sector list" is actually also a "capability list."
In the field of digital economy and the Internet, through years of promoting the "No. 1 Project" of the digital economy, Zhejiang has formed a cluster of cloud computing, big data, and platform economy centered around Hangzhou.
In terms of high-end equipment and advanced manufacturing, the "415X" project for cultivating advanced manufacturing clusters is building several trillion-yuan world-class industrial clusters, with continuous breakthroughs in areas such as robotics, new energy equipment, and key basic components.
In fields such as life sciences and new materials, the "315" project for building a scientific and technological innovation system clearly lists "life sciences and new materials" as one of the three scientific and technological innovation highlands and systematically arranges resources around 15 strategic areas.
In other words, the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund does not "find sectors after having the funds," but instead allocates funds to the capability nodes that are already taking shape but still need long-term capital support, following Zhejiang's existing comparative advantages and policy layouts.
From the perspective of the policy environment, this mother fund will not operate alone but will be integrated into several major projects being promoted in Zhejiang.
It will be connected with the "315" project for building a scientific and technological innovation system, focusing on supporting high-level innovation platforms, research on key core technologies, and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements around the three scientific and technological innovation highlands of "artificial intelligence, life sciences, and new materials and new energy" and 15 strategic areas.
It will be connected with the "415X" project for cultivating advanced manufacturing clusters, using tools such as merger and acquisition funds and industrial funds to assist in the reorganization and integration of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain and intelligent transformation around several trillion-yuan advanced manufacturing clusters.
It will be connected with the "No. 1 Project" of the digital economy and its upgraded version, focusing on supporting the digitalization of industries, the industrialization of digital technologies, and the marketization of data elements, so that the digital economy can truly become a tangible asset that the fund can evaluate.
Under such a design, the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund is more like a capital hub that "connects" multiple policy lines. Although it seems to be just a 50-billion-yuan mother fund, in fact, it can amplify the comprehensive effects of the "315 + 415X + No. 1 Project" through the linkage of sub-funds with local industrial funds.
As one of the provinces with the most active private economy in China, in recent years, policies such as the "Several Measures of Zhejiang Province to Promote the High - quality Development of the Private Economy" have been intensively introduced, emphasizing the use of various tools such as fiscal, financial, and industrial policies to help private enterprises reduce costs, stabilize expectations, and promote transformation. It also mentions that the leading and driving role of industrial funds such as the "4+1" special funds should be brought into play, and the proportion of the "4+1" special funds invested in private investment projects should not be less than 70%.
Under such a policy framework, the Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Innovation Fund is expected to play two roles:
Upward, it will become a bridge connecting national long - term funds and local government industrial policies. Downward, through special funds and cooperating general partners (GPs), it will direct the funds to scientific and technological innovation enterprises that are willing to conduct long - term R & D, take the technological route, and have the spirit of frontier exploration.
In the long run, this is not only an "asset allocation project" for social security funds but also a "capital structure optimization project" for the private economy in Zhejiang.
The successive launches of the social security science and technology innovation mother funds in Zhejiang and Jiangsu mean that the model of "social security funds + financial institutions + local funds" is evolving from exploration to a systematic approach. In the future, this model is likely to be replicated and adapted in regions such as the Chengdu - Chongqing area, the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Beijing - Tianjin - Hebei region.
On this path, what Zhejiang offers may not be the only answer, but it is definitely a highly valuable "sample."
Here, there is a government fund network accumulated through long - term practice, a policy environment that encourages first - mover advantages and digital governance capabilities