The Zhongguancun plan maps robotics, metaverse, AI, and advanced computing development across Beijing’s science parks.
Beijing has published its Zhongguancun plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, setting out technology and industrial priorities for the science park through 2030, with longer-term ambitions extending to 2035. The plan aims to establish Zhongguancun as a ‘world-leading science and technology park’ by 2030.
The strategy aligns with and provides a more detailed local form of China’s broader five-year technology priorities. Future-information priorities include the metaverse, sixth-generation mobile technology (6G), general AI, quantum technology, and brain-inspired intelligence. In contrast, future manufacturing priorities include embodied-intelligence robots, biomanufacturing, optoelectronic integration, and atomic-scale manufacturing.
Robotics features across both research and deployment. The Zhongguancun plan calls for stronger work on embodied intelligence, major application scenarios for intelligent robots, and deeper integration between robotics software and hardware. It also identifies Haidian, Chaoyang, Shijingshan, Changping, Pinggu, Shunyi, Fengtai, and Yizhuang as parks where future manufacturing industries, including embodied-intelligence robotics, will be developed.
The plan also sets out more specific robotics infrastructure. Chaoyang is expected to develop a humanoid robot competition and training base and a robotics innovation park; Haidian, an embodied-intelligence innovation industrial park; Fengtai, robot pilot-production services; and Daxing, a high-end robot manufacturing base.
Metaverse and virtual-reality technologies are included in the future-information track. In Shijingshan, the plan calls for further development of the Beijing Future Digital Space Innovation Pilot Zone, an embodied-intelligence data industry park, and a national key laboratory for virtual-reality technologies and systems.
Advanced computing is another part of the strategy. The Zhongguancun plan identifies computing infrastructure in Mentougou, high-performance intelligent computing in Yizhuang, and space-based computing as areas for further development. It also calls for flexible computing support for technology start-ups.
Why does it matter?
The Zhongguancun plan shows how broad technology priorities are being turned into specific industrial locations, research facilities, application scenarios, and supporting infrastructure across Beijing’s major science parks.
For robotics and the metaverse in particular, the plan goes beyond naming priority technologies by linking them to competition and training facilities, industrial parks, real-world application scenarios, virtual-reality research, and manufacturing capacity through 2030.
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