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上海巩固创新枢纽地位 - 2025年11月20日
Shanghai strengthens position as hub for innovation
Shanghai is a leading destination for multinational corporations in their global industrial strategies.
By September of this year, a total of 1,060 regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 631 foreign-funded R&D centers had been designated by the Shanghai Commerce Commission.
Over time, multinational corporations have established comprehensive value chains in research and investment throughout the city. Shanghai's push to strengthen technological innovation and foster industry clusters has further encouraged high-tech enterprises to engage and contribute.
As emphasis in China has shifted from high-speed growth to high-quality development, fields like new materials, integrated circuits (IC), automotive electrification, home improvement, and consumer electronics present significant investment opportunities for overseas companies.
One of 3M's four global R&D centers is in Shanghai.3M
China remains a key long-term market for US-based 3M, which operates one of its four global research centers in Shanghai alongside seven manufacturing sites nationwide.
3M has invested locally in China for over 40 years to support manufacturers and accelerate domestic market innovation. It partners with local companies in R&D, supply chain, and distribution to strengthen its innovation-to-market presence.
"We have witnessed the steady improvement of Shanghai's business environment and the continuous opening-up efforts," said 3M China President Henry Ding.
In the city, it has established a series of mechanisms and introduced initiatives to drive co-creation and co-development with local customers.
The 3M bonding process center in the Caohejing area is one of the three similar facilities around the globe. It supports local manufacturers in developing and planning automated bonding solutions.
3M's First-of-Its-Kind Automotive Materials Science Academy is also located in Shanghai, bringing together comprehensive automotive solutions, robotics technology, and R&D experts to create a knowledge-sharing platform that fosters global collaboration for the automotive industry.
"Shanghai has a large number of professionals with international perspectives and high-level expertise, which greatly facilitates our search for capable expertise to support our manufacturing, R&D, and innovation processes," he added.
"With its solid industrial foundation and rich industry resources, Shanghai has established a vibrant innovation ecosystem and a continually evolving market landscape, making it easier for diversified and innovation-driven companies like 3M to find customers and upstream and downstream partners," Ding said.
At the same time, with excellent universities and research institutions, Shanghai also allows it to establish close cooperative relationships to explore R&D and applications in many forward-looking industry fields.
ASMPT SEMI Equipment's R&D center in Lingang.ASMPT
As part of its long-term commitment to the China market, Singapore-based ASMPT established its independent local brand, AoXinMing, in 2023, aiming to deepen its presence and accelerate localization in technology, supply chain, and talent.
In May 2024, it opened its R&D center in the Lingang Special Area of Shanghai to drive innovation in chip packaging equipment and digital software for AI, AIoT, and big data applications. Through continuous R&D investment, it aims to enhance technical capabilities and expand product and application domains, including large-chip packaging, memory chip packaging, and flip-chip packaging. "From design and manufacturing to packaging and testing, equipment and materials, Shanghai has rich industrial clusters with complete upstream and downstream support, allowing us to accelerate technology implementation and product iteration," said Lam Kui Kam, chief technical officer of AoXinMing.
Shanghai has introduced a range of policies to support the IC industry. The IC industrial base, known as the "Oriental IC Port" in Lingang, offers one-stop support to promote coordinated development across the entire supply chain.
In the first half of this year, AoXinMing debuted its new generation of high-end, fully automatic die attach machines, which are independently developed in China, at the 2025 SEMICON exhibition. Regarding talent localization, it has also established a comprehensive talent development system. "We have been actively recruiting outstanding local talent and also carry out a series of internal training programs and industry-academia research collaborations, and we aim to increase the proportion of local R&D personnel to 70 percent in the future," he added.
Industry fairs like SEMICON China helped ASMPT and AoXinMing form ecosystem partnerships and collaborate with multiple companies. This initiative boosted the company's growth and upgraded the domestic semiconductor industry.
Bosch views China as its major market and a key source of technological innovation.Bosch
German engineering and electronics giant Bosch signed a memorandum of understanding in August to invest around 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) over five years in Suzhou Industrial Park.
The investment will focus on developing and manufacturing advanced intelligent driver-assistance systems and smart cabin hardware and software.
Bosch, which already has a strong presence in Shanghai and surrounding regions, views China not only as its major market but also as a key source of technological innovation.
"We hold Shanghai's science and technology innovation policy in very high regard and plan to strengthen our local research presence and capabilities," said Liu Xudan, head of research for renewable energy systems and vehicles at the Bosch China Research Department.
This plan aims to address the rapid growth of China's electrified and intelligent mobility, supporting the company's strategic commitment to innovate in China while serving the global market.
China has researched the latest electric vehicle and fuel cell technologies. For example, a Fuel Cel DC/DC converter developed jointly by Bosch and its local Chinese team serves the domestic market and is also supplied to vehicle manufacturers worldwide.
Bosch United Automotive Electronics, a joint venture of Bosch in Shanghai, has set up strong collaborative relationships with domestic suppliers and customers.
"We have set up joint laboratories with InnoScience (Suzhou) Technology Holding Co dedicated to device applications so that we can customize devices and rapidly integrate supplier products into our own product portfolio," he added.
Bosch also has a dedicated subsidiary specializing in fostering internal entrepreneurial initiatives to incubate in-house innovation projects. They nurture promising ideas and collaborate with local players to drive the industrialization of these innovative ventures.
"Shanghai is better positioned to develop the AI and electric vehicle sectors, thanks to its advantages in a concentrated automotive supply chain and talent," he noted.
Bosch anticipates close collaboration with local innovation forces in China to develop new technologies and solutions. The offerings validated in China will also be shared with Bosch's global network or markets.
Source: Shanghai Daily
