By Qudsia Bano

China’s new 2026–2030 development blueprint prioritizes building advanced industrial clusters and strengthening the digital economy, a strategy that experts believe could offer important guidance for Pakistan as it seeks  to develop competitive technology parks and innovation ecosystems.

The plan reflects China’s continued focus on high-quality development and technology-driven growth, while highlighting the role of coordinated industrial ecosystems in accelerating innovation and industrial upgrading.

Under China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for the 2026–2030 period, the government plans to accelerate industrial upgrading by expanding research and development investment, strengthening digital industries and promoting innovation-driven industrial clusters that combine manufacturing, technology enterprises and research institutions within integrated regional ecosystems. The policy framework aims to deepen the role of science and technology in economic development while supporting the emergence of new growth drivers across advanced industries.

According to the plan, China intends to increase total research and development spending by more than seven percent annually during the five-year period. At the same time, the value added of core digital industries is expected to reach 12.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, reflecting Beijing’s broader strategy to strengthen innovation capacity and build globally competitive technology sectors.

The industrial cluster approach emphasized in the plan seeks to bring together companies, universities, research centers and suppliers within the same geographic ecosystem. Such clustering enables closer collaboration among stakeholders, faster knowledge sharing and stronger productivity growth as firms gain easier access to skilled labor, technology networks, specialized services and supply chains. The model has been widely used in China’s manufacturing and technology sectors, helping the country build globally competitive industries through coordinated development of innovation, production and commercialization.

For Pakistan, which has launched several technology parks in recent years but continues to face challenges in innovation output and commercialization of research, China’s cluster-based strategy provides useful insights into how coordinated industrial ecosystems can strengthen technology development and attract investment.

Dr. Naeem Javed, Director at the Capital University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad, said Pakistan’s technology parks often function more as real estate developments rather than integrated innovation ecosystems. According to him, China’s cluster model demonstrates the importance of linking academia, industry and government support mechanisms in a unified framework that encourages collaboration and commercialization of research.

He explained that when companies, research institutions, suppliers and investors operate within the same ecosystem, startups and technology firms can move more quickly from research and development to commercial production. Such proximity also allows businesses to access specialized skills, funding networks and supply chains more efficiently, thereby strengthening innovation capacity.

Dr. Javed noted that if Pakistan wants its technology parks to succeed, they must evolve into specialized clusters focusing on specific sectors such as artificial intelligence, financial technology, semiconductor design or renewable energy technologies. Developing sector-focused clusters, he said, can help attract global technology companies while also encouraging knowledge spillovers among firms operating in the same ecosystem.

According to experts, the combination of industrial clusters and strong technology investment has helped many countries build globally competitive industries. In China’s case, the presence of a large domestic market has also enabled companies to test and scale up new technologies more rapidly, accelerating the commercialization of innovation across different sectors.

Muhammad Wazir, former Director to the Minister at the Ministry of Science and Technology, said Pakistan can benefit from closely studying China’s experience in industrial policy and regional innovation clusters. He noted that Pakistan already has several initiatives aimed at promoting technology-driven growth, including the Special Technology Zones Authority and a network of software technology parks across the country.

However, he pointed out that the impact of these initiatives has remained limited due to weak linkages between universities, research institutes and private-sector companies. According to him, stronger coordination among these stakeholders is essential for building effective innovation ecosystems capable of generating new technologies and supporting technology-based entrepreneurship.

Wazir said China’s approach demonstrates the importance of coordinated policy support that includes research funding, infrastructure development, export promotion and incentives for technology companies. When such elements are aligned within a broader industrial strategy, technology parks can evolve into dynamic industrial clusters that support innovation, attract international investment and strengthen export-oriented industries.

For Pakistan, expanding economic cooperation with China, particularly in technology collaboration and industrial development, could also help accelerate the growth of the country’s digital economy. Experts say that adapting elements of China’s industrial cluster strategy could help Pakistan transform its technology parks into fully integrated centers of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-based production, enabling them to play a stronger role in industrial modernization, technology development and export growth.

Credit: INP-WealthPk