Future industrial innovation: era trends, system functions, and development paths of high-tech industrial parks in China

Future industry is the key driver of the new technological revolution and industrial transformation, and it has implications for national strategic security and global competitiveness. It is also the future direction of industrial innovation in high-tech industrial parks. This study clarifies the conceptual underpinnings of future industries, the mission and functional reconstruction of high-tech industrial parks, and the premise for their mutual integration. Based on the theory of industrial innovation systems, this paper constructs a theoretical analytical framework for future industrial innovation. Taking application scenario-driven approaches as its logical starting point, the paper conducts an analysis of the composition and functional relationships of the policy support, technological innovation, human capital, and financial services subsystems. Taking Zhongguancun Science Park as a case, it validates the operational mechanisms and effectiveness of future industrial innovation systems. The study proposes recommendations from the perspective of the “basic research + technological innovation + industrial application research” pathway as a reference for future industrial innovation in high-tech industrial parks. These include building a diverse and collaborative innovation ecosystem, promoting the open sharing of basic research resources, overcoming the “first mile” barriers in technology transfer, and establishing a new government – university – enterprise collaborative model for talent cultivation and recruitment.