Chongqing- Located in the southern bank of the Yangtze River and boasting some of the best natural resources in the city's main urban area, Banan enjoys unique advantages in building the Chongqing International Biological City, Bannan District Mayor He Yousheng told a press conference on Wednesday.

The Chongqing International Biological City, currently home to more than 70 biomedicine research projects, has a planned area of 35 square kilometers, with an estimated industry output value of 80 billion yuan.

"Banan will build on the International Bio City as a platform to establish a strategic industry network of biomedicine, chemicals & pharmaceutics, modern TCM, and medical equipment, aiming to foster the largest biomedicine industry chain in western China and to create a hundred-billion-yuan international biological city with the most global influence in the upper Yangtze River areas," said He.

A series of preferential policies have been carried out to help attract more talents in the biomedicine industry and nurture a friendlier environment for companies and research institutions.

A one-off cash incentive of 500,000 yuan will be offered to the district's first-time enterprises above designated size with an annual core business revenue of more than 1 billion yuan; a one-off cash incentive of no more than 2 million yuan will be offered to the management team of the district's private equity fund and venture capital fund organizations; A one-off cash incentive of 3 to 5 million yuan and 200,000 to 1 million yuan will be offered to the district's academician working centers, and postdoctoral research stations, respectively, according to He.

To promote the quality development of Banan's biomedicine industry and expand the international influence, a master plan has been issued by the local government to strengthen the top-level design and systemic policy support.

Banan has managed to achieve the overall development of biopharmaceutical clusters with domestic industry leaders like the Zhirui Biology company and the Bowei Biology company at its core, chemical-pharmaceutical clusters with international industry leaders like the American Abbott company and the Japanese Saten company at its core, modern TCM clusters with the Sichuan NGP company and the Chongqing Wushufang company at its core, and medical equipment clusters with QJ Rehab company and the Zearly company at its core added He.

Meanwhile, Banan also maintains a track record for luring increasingly large investments to its biomedicine industry. For the last three years since the construction of the Chongqing International Biological City, Banan has seen a steady annual growth rate of over 30% in its biomedicine industry investment and industrial output value. For the year 2019 alone, about 3 billion yuan investment was injected into this industry, accounting for 45.11% of the district's total industrial investment value, a 36.12% increase year on year.