In early winter, Jinan thrives with bubbling springs and vibrant landscapes. Across the Yellow River provinces, mountains and waters coexist harmoniously, cultures blend, economies interconnect, and industries integrate.

The mission and responsibility of Jinan as the central city of the Yellow River basin are underscored by ecological protection and high-quality development. Technological innovation serves as the core driving force for advancing the region's development and achieving a balance between environmental protection and economic growth.

Gathering because of the Yellow River and marching towards innovation, the 2024 Yellow River Basin Collaborative Technological Innovation Conference was held in Jinan under the theme "Enhancing Regional Collaborative Innovation and Promoting Ecological Green Development." Stakeholders joined hands to build a regional innovation hub, promote coordinated regional development, and contribute to the construction of a strong technological nation.

Shared Efforts: Driving Collaborative Technological Innovation

Shandong focuses firmly on technological innovation, a critical factor influencing the transformation from quantitative to qualitative growth and bridging the north-south development gap. Adopting a proactive approach, Shandong emphasizes systematic thinking under the "Shandong leadership" and "basin-wide synergy" frameworks. It has been working on establishing collaborative innovation mechanisms for the Yellow River Basin, advancing reforms in science and technology, and creating a robust engine for northern China's high-quality development.

Yellow River provinces will leverage their comparative advantages, targeting key fields such as green technology, high-end equipment, new energy, and new materials. By linking universities, research institutions, and enterprises, the region will co-build innovation platforms, enhance synergy mechanisms, accelerate collaborative research projects, and achieve significant innovations. This effort aims to integrate technological and industrial innovation deeply.

Sharing Outcomes: Elevating Regional Collaborative Innovation

As part of the conference, the "Shared Exchange among Provincial Capitals of the Yellow River Basin in 2024" resulted in 14 signed agreements on technological achievements. These projects span industries like petrochemicals, new materials, biotechnology, health care, modern agriculture, and new energy. The agreements will strengthen technological cooperation among provincial capitals in the basin, enhance regional innovation levels, and inject new momentum into coordinated development.

Wisdom in Jinan: Accelerating the Development of New-Quality Productivity

As a central city in the Yellow River basin, Jinan has actively implemented an innovation-driven development strategy, deepened scientific and technological reforms, built various innovation platforms, and facilitated the integration of technology and industry to foster new productivity.

To advance collaborative innovation, Jinan has focused on building mechanisms, establishing platforms, and promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements to actively advance collaborative innovation with cities along the Yellow River. This effort has facilitated the realization and implementation of numerous technological innovation outcomes.

Together with other cities along the Yellow River, Jinan co-initiated the establishment of the Yellow River Basin Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation Alliance and signed technology cooperation agreements with provincial capitals such as Lanzhou, Xining, Xi’an, Zhengzhou, and Urumqi.

The city has also actively promoted the development of technology factor markets, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences Yellow River Basin Technology Achievement Transaction and Transformation Platform. The National Supercomputing Jinan Center has united 11 supercomputing centers, computational hubs, and computing power facilities from nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin to establish the "Yellow River Basin Computing Network Alliance." The launch of the Yellow River Industrial Computing Power Dispatch Hub Platform has effectively facilitated the free flow and optimal allocation of innovation resources.

Jinan has established a sub-center for technology achievement transactions among provincial capitals in the Yellow River Basin and successfully hosted green technology achievement matchmaking events, promoting the transformation of scientific and technological innovation achievements in water-saving and energy-saving fields across the nine provinces. The city has organized 50 activities, including technology project roadshows, financing demand presentations, and direct connection events for scientific and technological achievements, connecting 300 projects.

Jinan has also hosted the Yellow River Basin (Upper Reaches) Urban Science and Technology Achievement Transfer and Transformation Docking Conference, collecting and publishing 100 advanced technological achievements from six provinces and cities, significantly driving collaborative industrial development in the Yellow River Basin.

For the future, Jinan will deepen cooperation with provincial capitals along the Yellow River, actively compete to establish a national regional innovation center, and encourage shared scientific resources and cross-regional application of technological achievements. The city aims to explore new models and paths for collaborative innovation in the basin, driving high-quality development with greater vigor.

（Liang Ruixin）