As the 13th Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference began its fourth session on Jan 13, the provincial political advisers gathered in Hangzhou, carrying their proposals to boost the high-quality development of the province.

Zhang Zhiguo, a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPPCC and vice-president of the Advanced Technology Institute at Zhejiang University, has been focusing on the development of pilot platforms to bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial production.

Zhang has emphasized the critical role of pilot platforms in transforming scientific achievements into practical applications. He has noted that these platforms serve as vital links connecting research innovations with large-scale manufacturing, thus fostering the deeper integration of technological and industrial innovation.

Zhejiang now has three national-level pilot platforms, including the High-End Chemicals Pilot Platform of the Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou. It also boasts 11 provincial-level and 105 municipal-level pilot platforms.

Zhang has highlighted some of the challenges currently faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often find the pilot process time-consuming and resource-intensive.

He has proposed optimizing platform layouts and setting up platforms through multi-party collaboration, which are funded by the government, supported by institutions, and operated by enterprises. He has suggested doing this while streamlining processes and enhancing service offerings for SMEs.

To address regulatory hurdles, Zhang has suggested a new management model that simplifies pre-approval procedures while strengthening ongoing supervision, especially for high-risk projects.

To better serve the needs of enterprises, he has also proposed the establishment of a unified digital supply-demand matching platform.