Xi'an to build latest dual-center city to promote scientific collaboration

The approval of Xi'an as the home of a new "dual-center" is the latest step toward helping the country to create a national innovation hub to drive high-quality development in the northwest region. It will establish a comprehensive national scientific center and a nationally influential science and technology innovation center, making it the fourth "dual-center" city in the country, said Lv Laisheng, executive vice-mayor of Xi'an on Wednesday.

Xi'an Silk Road Scientific City will serve as both a Scientific Center and Science and Technology Investment Innovation Center. It will enable a focused development approach by highlighting the correlation and relationship between the four circles of science, scientific innovation, industry and service.

It is very convenient to bring these areas of development into one area, and we are looking forward to more industrial projects, said Yang Hua, deputy director of the Xi'an High-tech Zone Management Committee.

In terms of chip making, Xi'an has infrastructure for the entire industrial chain including equipment, materials, wafers, design and terminals. The large-size wafers are supplied to ZTE International, TSMC, and Samsung.

Samsung wafer making in Xi'an should be the world's most advanced flash memory chip production base, said Yang Hua.

To implement chip design, Xi'an gathered more than 200 companies, such as Huawei HiSilicon and Sanechips Technology. From material to production and application we have a relatively complete process for chip making, Yang said.

As the foundational platform for the construction of the national innovation system, a comprehensive national scientific center and a science and technology innovation center are located at the top of the pyramid of the national innovation system and are referred to as the "pearls on the crown of scientific research".

Prior to Xi'an, only Beijing, Shanghai, and the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau had been approved to establish dual centers.