On July 27th, a press conference was held for the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (E-Town) as part of the "Capital's 15th Five-Year Plan" series. Kong Lei, Secretary of the E-Town Working Committee, outlined that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the area will focus on a new generation of intelligent manufacturing. This will drive a dual-engine approach of advanced manufacturing and modern services. By 2030, the goal is to establish eight industrial clusters each worth over 100 billion yuan, with total industrial output reaching 1 trillion yuan. High-tech manufacturing output is expected to account for more than half of the total industrial output above the designated size, and the number of national-level smart factories and green factories should reach 100.
By 2030, the robot production capacity is expected to reach 500,000 sets. Kong Lei stated that E-Town will leverage the core driving force of artificial intelligence. It will implement an "AI+" action plan, adhering to full-stack autonomy, full-domain perception, and full-industry application. The focus will be on developing the token economy and building a globally influential city of universal AI. By 2030, the scale of intelligent computing power is projected to reach 100,000 P (petaflops), and the adoption rate of AI technology among manufacturing enterprises above the designated size will exceed 60%.
Beijing E-Town's Three Pillar Industries
E-Town plans to strengthen its three dominant industries: integrated circuits, biomedicine, and intelligent connected vehicles. By 2030, the annual production of passenger cars in the area is expected to exceed 1.3 million units. Furthermore, E-Town will expand four emerging pillar industries. In the robotics sector, production capacity is targeted to reach 500,000 sets by 2030, with 600 robots per 10,000 workers in manufacturing enterprises above designated size. The area will continue to build a series of robotics innovation platforms and enhance the brand of the humanoid robot half-marathon event.
Focus on Smart Terminals and Aerospace
In the smart terminal sector, the goal is to become a global hub for defining AI terminal products and intelligent manufacturing. A smart terminal industry street will be built, focusing on new terminals like smartphones and smart glasses. The number of "Yizhuang First" AI terminals is expected to exceed 1,000. In aerospace technology, the aim is to create a cluster with "a thousand enterprises collaborating, a thousand satellites in orbit, and a hundred billion yuan in revenue," with high-standard construction of an aerospace street. In the advanced energy sector, the focus will be on breakthroughs in core technologies for new energy storage, such as solid-state batteries. A national wind power technology innovation center will be established, along with pilot platforms for advanced energy sources like space-based photovoltaics and perovskite. This is part of building a new energy system.
Deploying Future Industries
Kong Lei indicated that E-Town will also strategically deploy a number of future industries. Key areas include breakthroughs in 6G communication, quantum information, brain science and brain-computer interfaces, biomanufacturing, fusion energy, and new materials. The area will also look ahead to industries like optoelectronics, fourth-generation semiconductors, digital cells, artificial life, and atomic-level manufacturing. The goal is to accelerate core technology research and scenario application exploration in frontier fields, seizing new tracks in future industries. By 2030, E-Town aims to cultivate several nationally leading future industry innovation clusters and compete to become a national-level future industry pilot zone.
Accordingly, E-Town's future industry enterprises above designated size account for nearly a quarter of the city's total. It has gathered over 800 core AI industry chain enterprises and more than 300 robotics and intelligent manufacturing companies. The area is home to 75% of the nation's commercial rocket development companies, has established the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's first embodied intelligence super factory, and has launched the city's first token factory. E-Town has been officially approved as a municipal-level future industry pilot zone, forming a source of innovation with industry influence.
Implementing a Social Experiment Plan for Embodied Intelligence
Wang Lei, Deputy Secretary of the E-Town Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee, stated that to meet the verification and iteration needs of new technologies and products, the entire city of E-Town is being used as a city-level testing ground for incubating future industries. This approach promotes scenario innovation and demonstration applications. E-Town is implementing a social experiment plan for embodied intelligence, opening robot 4S stores, robot restaurants, and robot community elderly care stations. "We adhere to the principle of 'promoting research and application through competition.' We pioneered humanoid robot half-marathons, as well as competitions for hotel robots, garden robots, and health care robots. The purpose is to conduct extreme stress tests on core capabilities like autonomous navigation and motion control in real, complex scenarios, thereby accelerating the industry's output of technical standards," Wang Lei said.
E-Town has created the nation's first high-level autonomous driving demonstration zone. It has advanced the coordinated construction of intelligent connected and smart city systems into the 4.0 phase, with over 1,500 vehicles deployed, accumulating more than 62 million kilometers of driving. These practices provide a crucial platform and channel for cutting-edge technologies to move from the "laboratory" to the real world.
Promoting Advanced Tech from Lab to Application
E-Town will accelerate the enhancement of its role as a main platform for the International Science and Technology Innovation Center. It will improve a demand-oriented mechanism for generating science and technology plans, strengthen basic research, and increase the proportion of investment in basic research. The area will cultivate a gradient system for high-quality enterprises, support leading enterprises in forming innovation consortia, and encourage one-person companies to start businesses. By 2030, the total number of national and municipal-level R&D institutions in E-Town is expected to exceed 600, with over 3,000 national high-tech enterprises and 250 national-level "Little Giant" specialized and new enterprises. An average of 5,000 new tech companies will be established annually, with 200 authorized invention patents per 10,000 employees.
Efforts will be concentrated in five major areas: autonomous driving, robotics, aerospace technology, advanced energy, and urban governance. The goal is to propel cutting-edge technologies from the "laboratory" to the "application field." E-Town will further build a full-chain incubation service system spanning "concept verification, technical service, proof-of-concept center, and pilot base." It will accelerate the construction of a venture capital cluster, strengthen cooperation with world-renowned science parks and top innovation regions, and host major brand events like the World Robot Conference. By 2030, the scale of the venture capital system's funds is expected to reach 200 billion yuan.
Adding Over 5 Million Square Meters of Industrial Space
To create a first-class business environment, during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, E-Town will add over 5 million square meters of industrial space through urban renewal and 500 hectares of industrial land through land reserves. It will expand the effective supply of standard factories, professional incubators, and high-level industrial parks. The supply capacity of innovative elements like data, computing power, and models will be enhanced to reduce overall costs for enterprises. E-Town will also accelerate the gathering of high-level institutions such as regional headquarters of multinational corporations, functional headquarters, and foreign R&D centers. It aims to become a prime destination for foreign investment, striving to form two 100-billion-yuan export clusters for automobiles and parts, and electronic information. By 2030, the cumulative actual utilization of foreign capital is expected to double, with the number of foreign R&D centers reaching around 180.
In terms of coordinated development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, E-Town will establish an industrial spatial layout of "one core, two axes, and three zones." It will focus on frontier technologies and high-end elements to create an innovation-driven core, build an industrial development axis for the southern capital region and a collaborative industrial development axis for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and promote the linked development of high-end manufacturing clusters, the intelligent economy demonstration zone, and the international innovation ecosystem zone. At the same time, it will create a new highland for coordinated development in the southern capital. Focusing on cross-regional industrial collaboration, optimization of infrastructure layout, and management mechanisms, E-Town will fully support the construction of the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center and comprehensively strengthen coordinated development with the Daxing District.
Multi-Level Housing System
Kong Lei stated that over the next five years, E-Town will balance "a tech feel" with "a vibrant atmosphere," building a happy life circle at residents' doorsteps. This includes strengthening childcare services for very young children, accelerating the construction and renovation of 11 schools including the Beijing Normal University Affiliated High School Yizhuang New Town Campus, and adding over 20,000 new basic education degrees. The construction and commissioning of a series of hospitals, including the new campus of the Children's Hospital and the third phase of the Tongren Hospital Yizhuang Campus, will be accelerated. A senior-friendly society will be built, with a comprehensive three-tier elderly care service network established. The multi-level housing security system encompassing "one bed, one room, one apartment" will be improved, with an expected addition of over 16,000 units of government-subsidized rental housing.
In terms of integrated cultural, commercial, tourism, and sports development, E-Town will promote the commissioning of cultural facilities like the Yizheng Academy, Yizheng Theater, Digital Art Museum, Chinese Acrobatics Art Center, and Tongming Lake Grand Theater. It will develop cultural formats such as traditional Chinese style, immersive performances, and small theater shows. The focus will be on building the Creative Life Plaza city-level park and commercial complex, developing characteristic commercial streets and nighttime economy clusters, and introducing new "industrial technology and tourism+" scenarios. E-Town will further strengthen the construction of a convenient transportation system and densify the rail transit network. This includes promoting the commissioning of the Yizhuang Line, Line 5, and Line 10 connector projects, initiating the second phase of the intercity railway link, and creating vibrant urban micro-centers around rail stations like Beishenshu, Jiahuihu, and the western part of the development zone. The plan also includes upgrading the functionality of the Fifth Ring Road and expanding the capacity of the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway to improve external transportation links.