(Biotechnology Manufacturing Industry Network) At the economic theme press conference held on March 6th during the 14th National People's Congress Fourth Session, Director Zheng Gese of the National Development and Reform Commission stated that the country will focus on building six major emerging pillar industries and six major future industries.
Director Zheng Gese said that the six emerging pillar industries include integrated circuits, aerospace, biomedicine, low-altitude economy, new energy storage, and intelligent robots. Currently, robots are developing in two directions. The first is becoming more like humans, with a wide range of application scenarios; the second is becoming less like humans, and it may transform into six fingers, eight fingers, or even five or six arms according to the needs of industrial development. Preliminary estimates show that the output value related to these six industries will reach nearly 6 trillion yuan by 2025, and is expected to double or more by 2030, expanding to over 10 trillion yuan.
The six future industries include quantum technology, biomanufacturing, green hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interface, embodied intelligence, and 6G, which are at the " eve of technological breakthroughs ". The current future industries may be the emerging pillar industries of tomorrow.
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Synthetic biology, as a key technical support for biomanufacturing, occupies an important position in the national future industry strategic layout.
Policy positioning and strategic significance
In the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan", synthetic biology was highly expected, and the 2026 Two Sessions further emphasized this direction. The report pointed out that future industries refer to those driven by cutting-edge technologies, currently in the embryonic or initial industrialization stage, and having the potential to grow into leading industries and pillar industries.
Synthetic biology, as the core technology of biomanufacturing, has gained a high consensus on its strategic importance at the national level.
National People's Congress representative, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Chongqing Green Intelligent Technology Research Institute, Shi Haofei, clearly pointed out that future industries, including synthetic biology, are the key handles for seizing the commanding heights of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation and cultivating and strengthening new quality productive forces, and have significant strategic significance for achieving high-level scientific self-reliance and self-strengthening. This judgment has elevated the development of synthetic biology to the height of safeguarding national industrial security.
Academician Ding Kuiqing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences represented it as "the third revolution in life science", believing that it has disruptive application prospects in medicine, energy, agriculture, and environmental protection.
Representative Yang Xianjin from Tianjin University also emphasized that biomanufacturing can provide innovative solutions to global problems such as resources, energy, and the environment. This means that the development of synthetic biology is not only a technical exploration but also a strategic choice related to the future competitiveness of the country.
At present, the synthetic biology industry has reached a consensus nationwide. Except for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions, 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China have clearly proposed to support the development of synthetic biology/biomanufacturing industries in their policies. Among them, 24 provinces and municipalities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai have even introduced special policies for synthetic biology manufacturing industries.
Core challenge: Crossing from laboratory to industry
Although the prospects are broad, synthetic biology, from laboratory achievements to large-scale production, faces the most crucial obstacle, namely the so-called "death valley" stage - from the "1" of technological breakthrough to the "10" of mass production and implementation. How to cross this gap has become the focus of discussion at this year's Two Sessions.
Solving this problem requires systematic institutional design. First, it is necessary to strengthen original innovation and increase long-term stable investment in basic research on synthetic biology, and encourage strategic forces such as national laboratories to conduct core technology research.
Second, in the transformation stage, Beijing's政协委员， Chairman of Huaxi Biotechnology， Zhao Yan suggested that the government lead the support of leading enterprises and universities to jointly establish innovation consortia， integrate industrial demands in the basic research stage， and focus on building pilot and verification platforms， which are the key infrastructure for crossing the "death valley".
Shanghai Jiao Tong University has explored the "concept verification" mechanism， ensuring the technology's ability to be mass-produced in the initial stage. Shanghai innovatively introduced the "project manager system + virtual company" model， providing funds for each concept verification project， and if it fails， the company will be cancelled， effectively reducing the entrepreneurial risks of scientific researchers. Biomanufacturing： Green industrial upgrading， industrialization process progresses steadily Biomanufacturing is a key green industry to be cultivated in the "14th Five-Year Plan"， relying on industrial support policies and park supporting support， it has become an important direction for the green transformation of traditional industries. Synthetic biology， biobased materials， and other sub-sectors enjoy policy and industrial supporting support. In the industrial sector, the scale of the biomanufacturing industry has been steadily expanding. The green and cost-effective approaches have been driving the continuous advancement of the commercialization process, making it one of the clearer directions for industrialization implementation in the future. In the industrial sector, the market entities with long-term planning have a relatively high concentration. The layout intentions of enterprises at all links of the industrial chain have continued to strengthen. Core sub-sectors: synthetic biology, bio-based materials, biological fermentation, innovative biological products, integrated network of green biotechnology, communication core equipment, satellite communication, radio frequency chips.
