The optoelectronic information industry has been designated as the "No. 1 Project" by the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee and Jilin Provincial People's Government. As a top priority for the province, the construction of China's Optoelectronics City is being advanced with full support from Jilin Province. The CPC Changchun Municipal Committee and Changchun Municipal People's Government are resolutely implementing the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee and Jilin Provincial People's Government. With the Party secretary of the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee and the mayor of Changchun City as co-leaders, a dedicated frontline headquarters has been established to harness the full strength of the city to ensure the swift start and rapid advancement of "China's Optoelectronics City" project.

In production workshops, intelligent production lines run at full speed and precision optical components move seamlessly between robotic arms. In laboratories, researchers monitor the real-time data and repeatedly fine-tune parameters of imaging sensors. At construction sites, cranes tower overhead, machines rumble, and construction vehicles shuttle back and forth, while modern factory buildings are rising one after another. Everywhere one looks, construction is in full swing, and the city is alive with energy and dynamism. With a global vision for developing the optoelectronic information industry and determined efforts to deliver a revitalization blueprint, Changchun is accelerating the rise of China's Optoelectronics City.

High-Level Planning: Drawing Up the Blueprint for Optoelectronics

With careful planning before action and clear objectives to guide development, Changchun is adhering to top-level design and plan-led development, and coordinating efforts in both spatial planning and industrial development, so as to set a clear course for the high-quality and leapfrog development of the optoelectronic information industry.

The spatial layout is designed to meet leading standards. Drawing on the design concepts of leading sci-tech innovation parks in China, renowned domestic design institutions have been invited to develop high-quality spatial planning and architectural design plans for the Optoelectronics City. With a spatial layout featuring "two axes, four zones," Changchun outlines a development framework of "one city, seven parks," defining a planned area of 5.3 square kilometers and systematically establishing four major functional sectors including advanced technology engines, efficient innovation incubation, high-standard intelligent manufacturing, and high-quality supporting services. Moreover, the city is accelerating land purchase and reserve, among other project advancements, for Changguang Park and Huaguang Park, while launching urban renewal and upgrading in surrounding areas to create a distinctive urban landscape.

Industrial planning is focused on cutting-edge fields. Adhering to the national industrial development strategies for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Changchun promotes interplay between a well-functioning government and an efficient market. Focusing on three major fields, semiconductors and high-end manufacturing, satellite technology and applications, and optoelectronic sensing and instruments, the city is speeding up the development of the sub-industries in the semiconductor sector, such as key components of metrology and inspection equipment, optical modules, industrial and consumer cameras, as well as those in the optoelectronic sensing sector, such as grating rulers and integrated equipment. A number of major initiatives, including the "Three-year Development and Upgrading Action Plan for Chang Guang Satellite," are being implemented. An industrial development layout is being established in which Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone takes the lead, while Changchun New Area, Changchun Jingyue High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Changchun Automotive Economic and Technological Development Zone, and China-ROK (Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone pursue coordinated development. By the end of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the total output value of Changchun's optoelectronic information industry is projected to exceed RMB 160 billion.

High-Standard Construction: Laying a Solid Foundation for Optoelectronics

Major projects provide a solid foundation for industrial development. Accordingly, Changchun has made project development a top priority in promoting "China's Optoelectronics City", racing ahead of deadlines, accelerating progress, and ensuring quality to drive the intensive and efficient advancement of project construction.

At present, construction has begun on 16 key projects. Looking ahead, growth momentum continues to build, with major projects exceeding RMB 100 million in scale ready to get underway across more than 30 fields, including semiconductors, optoelectronic materials, and satellite technology. Once these projects reach full production capacity, their output value is expected to exceed RMB 60 billion.

The rise and fall of tower cranes marks the steady extension of the city's industrial framework, and the roar of machinery echoes the surging momentum of revitalization. Advancing in close succession, major high-quality projects are flourishing one after another, with a focus on shoring up weaknesses across the industrial chain. These efforts are laying a solid foundation for the development of China's Optoelectronics City.

Industrial development relies on both endogenous driving forces and external empowerment through targeted investment attraction. In boosting the latter, Changchun has been innovating its investment promotion model by leveraging multiple channels, including trade fairs, business networks, and industrial chain connections, to precisely match high-quality industrial resources across the country. This multi-pronged approach is accelerating the implementation of a number of major high-quality projects.

This year, the city has engaged in intensive matchmaking and negotiation for over 60 projects, among which 39 have been signed, with a total investment of RMB 27.7 billion. Meanwhile, 10 additional projects are currently being pushed toward signing and implementation, with an estimated total investment exceeding RMB 7.7 billion. In the near future, Changchun will conduct targeted investment promotion tours to more than 10 key cities, including Shenzhen and Shanghai, to proactively engage with industry-leading enterprises and attract more companies from across the industry chain of optoelectronic information, both upstream and downstream, to establish a foothold in Changchun and expand their presence in the sector.

High-Caliber Support: Providing a Fertile Ground for Optoelectronics

Industrial competitiveness comes down to the strength of the ecosystem, which is also the foundation of industrial advantage. Changchun has rolled out multi-factor support mechanisms covering policy, land, capital, and other key resources, establishing a full-cycle support system for the optoelectronics industry that provides comprehensive safeguards for enterprise growth.

In terms of policy, a package of measures has been introduced to support the high-quality development of the optoelectronic information industry, covering scientific and technological innovation, application scenarios, talent attraction, and factor resource guarantees. These policy dividends are boosting the growth and expansion of enterprises.

Regarding land supply, an additional 39 hectares of industrial land have been rezoned for the Optoelectronics City, and the "breaking ground upon acquiring land" policy has been carried out to shorten the approval-to-implementation cycle, ensuring that enterprises can quickly commence production and deliver results.

As for funding, the city has been raising capital through multiple channels, including special-purpose bond funds, provincial and municipal equity funds and fiscal allocations, and financial input at the level of Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone. Meanwhile, it is actively engaging with Changxing Changguang Fund, Bank of China Group Investment Limited, and major municipal industrial funds to secure diversified capital support. At the same time, focusing on the "1+3" industrial sectors, the city will establish Changchun Optoelectronic Information Industry Development Co., Ltd., whose business scope will cover industry research and incubation, investment and mergers and acquisitions, and park business attraction and operations, supporting the optoelectronic information industry as the city's second growth curve in economic development.

Sci-tech innovation is the core of the optoelectronic information industry and the most defining strength of the Optoelectronics City. Changchun will deepen industry-university-research collaboration with major research institutions and universities, including Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Jilin University. This partnership will establish over 20 high-caliber innovation platforms, such as Light International Center and Jiguang Laboratory, and 27 CIOMP-backed enterprises in the city. These efforts are designed to promote deep integration of the innovation chain and the industrial chain, and to accelerate the local commercialization of research outcomes.

Currently, China's Optoelectronics City has attracted more than 200 optoelectronics enterprises, including 2 listed companies, 2 unicorns, 4 national-level "little giant" SMEs that use specialized and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, and over 20 gazelle companies, forming a clearly tiered and vibrant enterprise cluster. A number of research achievements, like Optics Explorer gas sensors and Zhiyuan high-resolution remote sensing payloads, have been successfully industrialized.

The optoelectronic industry in Changchun has now gathered the momentum for takeoff: the conditions are ripe, the time is right, and a flourishing future lies ahead. This will undoubtedly inject new drivers and robust vitality into the high-quality development of Changchun and the entire Jilin Province. Going forward, Changchun will accelerate the signing and implementation of major projects in China's Optoelectronics City, with the goal of gathering over 500 optoelectronic enterprises and exceeding RMB 160 billion in output value by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, striving to build a national-level R&D and manufacturing base for major optoelectronic equipment and key components.

Source: Changchun Government Affairs  Editor: Liu Jiadi