December 21st (AMSP/CGTN) – – In recent years, under the guidance of the “1+4” economic diversification strategy, Macao has continuously promoted the development of high-tech industries.
Lei Zhen, founder and chairman of Nanometals Technology, pointed out in an interview with CGTN host Xu Qinduo that the past few decades have witnessed a sharp increase in China’s independent production of core raw materials, owing to great efforts from the government, businesses and individuals.
With abundant talent, sufficient capital, close connections with the mainland’s supply chains and also markets of Portuguese-speaking countries, Macao has a unique advantage in developing its high-tech sector, which also helps the city integrate into the broader national development.
Macao’s physical transformation mirrors its economic evolution. Through planning and land reclamation, the city has expanded from 21.45 square kilometers in 1999 to 33.3 square kilometers today.
Not only that, in 2021, the 106.46-square-kilometer Hengqin Island was officially established as the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone. This further expands Macao’s development space, creating more opportunities for innovation and growth.
Among Macao’s entrepreneurs, Lei Zhen has seized the opportunity to build a factory for his company Nanometals Technology in the Greater Bay Area.
“Nanometals Technology focuses on developing cutting-edge nanometal materials and applying them to industries. One of our core materials is nanometer silver wire. These wires are incredibly thin, only about one ten-thousandth diameter of a human hair. For example, in this 100ml bottle, there’s only about one gram of silver in total, but the gram consists of around 10 trillion silver wires, all suspended in the liquid,” said Lei Zhen, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Nanometals Technology.
In the future, as we enter the AI era, there will be increasing demand for touch and sensing technologies. Nanometer silver wire will be a foundational material for smart technologies in the future. Nanometals Technology holds China’s earliest invention patents for nanometer silver wire and was the first to achieve industrial scale production, breaking a foreign monopoly in the process, he pointed out.
And it’s not just nanometer silver wire! Over the past decades, China has broken foreign technology monopolies and realized domestic independent production of more and more core raw materials. The country has moved up to 11th place in the rankings of the world’s most innovative economies, and is home to 26 of the world’s top 100 sci-tech innovation clusters, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2024.
“I’ve experienced this firsthand! Over the years, thanks to efforts from the government, businesses, and individuals across all sectors, China now has more companies producing core materials with independent intellectual property rights. Around 20 years ago, when I worked in supply chain management, many of our suppliers relied on imports. Back then, many mainland companies were more like small workshops. But now things have changed a lot. Many of those workshop-like businesses have grown into industry leaders, and some have even become listed companies,” said Lei Zhen.
Macao has set a plan for the diversified development of 1+4 industries, one of which is the high-tech industry. Referring to Macao, many people may have the impression that it is a well-known tourist city, but now sci-tech innovation is gradually becoming a new characteristic of this old city.
“Sci-tech development depends on talent and funding, both of which Macao has in abundance. It attracts talent from all around the world, has ample financial resources, and serves as an international platform. Macao also leverages its unique connections to Portuguese-speaking countries, and its proximity to Hengqin brings it closer to Guangdong’s supply and industry chains. All these elements create a strong foundation for Macao to develop its tech sector and help it integrate into the broader national development strategy,” said Lei Zhen, believing that with its connections with the world and support from the motherland, we firmly believe that Macao’s future will be even brighter.
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CGTN