Leverage the role of “chain leader” in the biopharmaceutical industry chain and accelerate the clustering of biopharmaceutical enterprises.

Xixian New Area Guorui Yinuo Drug Safety Evaluation and Research Co., Ltd. has been awarded the national drug GLP certification by the National Medical Products Administration, filling the gap in GLP laboratories in Shaanxi Province.

　　■ Wang Jianan and Li Qian
　　Against the backdrop of building a new development pattern featuring a dominant domestic circulation and mutual promotion of domestic and international dual circulations, the airport-based economy is emerging as a key driver of high-quality regional development.
　　Affected by the pandemic, the global air transportation industry has suffered a severe blow. However, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport has achieved growth against the trend: in 2020, its cargo and mail throughput reached 376,300 tons, placing it among the top ten airports nationwide for the first time. In the first eight months of this year, its cargo and mail throughput totaled 277,800 tons, representing a year-on-year increase of 27.2%, ranking first among the ten major hub airports in terms of growth rate.
　　Leveraging the efficient and rapid air transportation system of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, the Airport New City in the Xixian New Area of Shaanxi Province is capitalizing on the synergistic advantages of its six key functions—“airside development + free trade zone + bonded zone + cross-border trade + port of entry/exit + air rights”—to accelerate the construction of the Xi'an Airside Economic Demonstration Zone. The scale of the airside economy has surpassed 12 billion yuan, and the area is rapidly transforming from a “city airport” into an “airport city.”

 

　　Innovation-driven development channels and advantages boost the integration of the “two chains.”
　　Shaanxi is a major province in traditional medicine; in 2020, the province’s biopharmaceutical output value reached approximately 100 billion yuan. In June of this year, the “Implementation Opinions of the General Office of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government on Further Enhancing the Development Level of Industrial Chains” were officially issued, clearly identifying the biopharmaceutical industrial chain as one of the 11 flagship key industrial chains in Shaanxi, each led by a provincial-level official serving as the “chain leader.”
　　In July of this year, Xixian New Area Guorui Yinuo Drug Safety Evaluation and Research Co., Ltd., located in the Airport-based Aerospace Industry Park, received national drug GLP certification from the National Medical Products Administration, filling the gap in GLP laboratories in Shaanxi Province.
　　GLP is the fundamental guideline that must be followed in preclinical studies of pharmaceuticals. According to China’s legal requirements, all preclinical safety studies for new drugs must be conducted in laboratories that have obtained national GLP certification for pharmaceuticals.
　　“After obtaining certification, many Shaanxi-based enterprises and research institutions have been reaching out to us,” said Su Lai, General Manager of Xixian New Area Guorui Yinuo Drug Safety Evaluation and Research Co., Ltd. Preclinical safety evaluation is a critical bottleneck in new drug development. Nationwide, there are only a little over ten facilities operating at a high level and with high efficiency, and most of them are concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing, and Shandong Province. Previously, Shaanxi’s pharmaceutical companies and research institutions had to go to Shanghai, Suzhou, and other places to conduct safety evaluations, facing long queues, lengthy wait times—even having to wait up to two years before they could get their turn. “In the fiercely competitive market, such prolonged waiting introduces significant uncertainty. Once a competitor gains the upper hand, all the earlier R&D investments could easily be wasted, and they might even face subsequent market contraction.” Su said, “Judging from the current situation, we can save these Shaanxi-based enterprises and institutions anywhere from three to twelve months, greatly shortening their new drug development cycles.”
　　Cao Yunchun, Director of the Institute for Airport Economic Research at the Civil Aviation University of China, stated: “The biomedical industry exhibits a relatively strong preference for locations near airports, as it requires high-end talent and globally connected cold-chain air logistics. That’s why areas surrounding Memphis Airport in the U.S., Lyon Airport in France, and Incheon Airport in South Korea have become hubs attracting numerous biomedical companies and third-party public service institutions.” Cao Yunchun believes that with the emergence of third-party public service platforms like the Guorui Yinuo GLP Laboratory in the new airport city, these platforms will, to some extent, assume the role of “chain leaders” in the biomedical industry’s value chain, thereby accelerating the clustering of biomedical enterprises.
　　Currently, in the Airport New City, construction of the Meri Zhongcheng Animal Vaccine Project—a facility with an annual production capacity of 140 million doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine—is accelerating. Meanwhile, the Eurasia (Shaanxi) Free Trade Zone Health & Pharmaceutical City, centered on biopharmaceuticals, international medical care, and medical devices, has also signed an agreement to establish itself here. A comprehensive health industry chain—covering R&D, manufacturing, testing, and services—is taking shape.
　　Chen Maizeng, Chairman of Xixian New Area Guorui Yinuo Drug Safety Evaluation and Research Co., Ltd., has spent many years working in the biopharmaceutical field in Philadelphia, USA. He chose to establish his business in the airport area because, in his view, Xi'an boasts a sufficiently high density of biopharmaceutical resources. As a major province in science and education, Shaanxi Province has more than 70 universities and research institutes offering medical and healthcare-related majors. Clinical resources are abundant at Xi'an Jiaotong University First Affiliated Hospital, Xijing Hospital, Tangdu Hospital, and other institutions. Moreover, there are over 2,700 enterprises engaged in the production and R&D of biopharmaceuticals in Xi'an.
　　“Airports are the closest gateway from Xi’an to the rest of the world,” said Chen Mai. “As a third-party service platform, here we can better serve Shaanxi’s biopharmaceutical companies and institutions, and more efficiently connect them with domestic and international biopharmaceutical resources.” Chen Mai hopes that more companies and institutions will leverage their GLP laboratories to rapidly evaluate, refine, and improve the foundational research and development of new drugs. At the same time, he envisions that capital providers, R&D institutions, manufacturing enterprises, and third-party agencies can collaborate efficiently, fostering an organic integration between the biopharmaceutical innovation chain and the industrial chain.
　　Ai Chen, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Airport New City, introduced that Airport New City is currently accelerating the development of the Qin Chuangyuan Air-Linked Industry Cluster Zone and the Demonstration Zone for Open Cooperation. Focusing on industrial clusters such as air-linked economy, scientific and technological research and development, and electronic information, the city is prioritizing the development of industries including the manufacturing and maintenance of critical aviation components and aviation services, R&D of key technologies and application equipment for the Beidou navigation system, 5G, biotechnology, and new pharmaceutical and medical devices. “The successful approval of the GLP laboratory fills a gap in Shaanxi Province and has been swiftly put into operation. This is a prime example of how Airport New City leverages its advantages in openness to promote the integration of ‘two chains’,” said Ai Chen.
　　The “Super Aviation Hub” of Fusion Advantage Accelerates Its Rise
　　On September 30 this year, the fifth-freedom cargo route “Moscow-Xi’an-Almaty” was officially launched. A fully loaded B737-800F freighter, carrying 19 tons of mechanical and electrical equipment, electronic products, and daily necessities destined for Central Asia and Russia, departed from Xi’an Xianyang International Airport for Almaty, Kazakhstan.
　　The “Moscow-Xi’an-Almaty” route is Shaanxi’s first cargo flight with fifth freedom rights, connecting it to countries along the Belt and Road. Its launch has reduced the transit time for cargo and mail from Shaanxi Province and China’s central and western regions to Central Asia and Eastern Europe by three to five days. The route is scheduled to operate twice a week, and is expected to provide Shaanxi’s import and export enterprises with nearly 6,000 tons of air freight capacity annually.
　　Zhang Lei, Deputy Director of the Airport New City Air Logistics Development Bureau, said: “This is another achievement in Airport New City’s ongoing efforts to build an efficient, low-cost, and high-quality international trade corridor for inland regions, thereby smoothing the dual circulation—both domestic and international.”
　　“China is Russia’s largest trading partner. Today, China sends over 2 million express shipments to Russia every day, and this number continues to grow at a rate of 25% to 40% annually—nearly half of which are delivered by air. Currently, the Airport New City has launched several all-cargo routes from Xi’an to Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and other destinations, laying the foundation for establishing a hub for air transportation between central and western China and Russia,” said Zhang Lei.
　　Smooth international trade channels have also provided strong support for Shaanxi’s manufacturing sector to accelerate its integration into the global value chain. Previously, Airport New City launched several “chip routes,” including Seoul-Xi’an-Hanoi and Seoul-Xi’an-Los Angeles. As of now, these routes have cumulatively operated steadily for 129 flights, effectively ensuring the smooth progress of the second-phase expansion of Samsung Semiconductor in Xi’an.
　　As of now, Airport New City has cumulatively launched 38 all-cargo air routes, including 19 international routes that connect to 18 cities in 13 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America—such as Seoul, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Moscow, Brussels, Bangkok, and Delhi—thus initially establishing an air network characterized by “opening up to the West, gathering goods from the East, and radiating globally.”
　　The level of international aviation hubs continues to rise, and innovation and reform are being advanced in parallel.
　　In April of this year, the new “direct pickup and direct loading” model was launched at the airport new city port apron. Under this model, international cargo can be picked up and loaded immediately upon arrival—within 24 hours—allowing equipment and spare parts for Xi'an Samsung (China) Semiconductor Co., Ltd. to enter the dust-free workshop one day earlier than before. According to company estimates, this innovative reform alone could save the company 13 million yuan.
　　The Airport New City, together with the Xi'an Xianyang Airport Customs and enterprises within the zone, will fully leverage information technologies such as the Internet of Things and cloud computing to actively explore new smart regulatory models and effectively support the high-quality development of Shaanxi’s export-oriented enterprises.
　　In January of this year, Shaanxi Xixian Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone—the only airport-based comprehensive bonded zone in Shaanxi Province—began operations after being officially sealed off. Within the zone, the Xi'an International Aviation Materials Supply Chain Management Center has adopted a new regulatory model featuring “networked warehousing systems, real-time inventory management, and intelligent checkpoint verification,” enabling bonded and non-bonded goods to be managed jointly from the same warehouse. With just one system, one set of equipment, and one team of personnel, all operations can be completed efficiently, significantly boosting operational efficiency.
　　Big data empowers the front end, enabling rapid responses to enterprise needs. Today, the Xi'an International Aerospace Materials Supply Chain Management Center can proactively procure and stockpile aerospace materials based on the production rhythms of upstream and downstream enterprises, efficiently meeting enterprises’ immediate production demands. It has been praised by international aerospace materials customers—both upstream and downstream—as an “International Aerospace Materials Supermarket.”
　　Since its establishment one year ago, the Xi'an International Aviation Materials Supply Chain Management Center has already achieved an international trade volume of aviation materials worth 420 million yuan, providing strong support for the efficient operation and maintenance of aircraft manufacturing and domestically produced commercial aircraft in Northwest China and across the country. In the first half of this year, the Shaanxi Xixian Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone recorded an import and export value of 1.765 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 90.8%.
　　High-quality development of air logistics has opened up international logistics channels for Shaanxi’s enterprises in sectors such as electronic information, aviation, and biopharmaceuticals, enabling Shaanxi to accelerate its integration into the global 24-hour economic circle. Looking ahead, the Phase III expansion project of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport—a project with a total investment of 49.6 billion yuan—is now being expedited. Once completed, it will meet the future demand for annual air cargo throughput of 2 million tons, and a “super hub” connecting the world is rapidly emerging in the heartland of China.
　　The “Three-Year Action Plan for the Convention and Exhibition Industry in Xi’an City (2021-2023)” explicitly states that by 2023, Xi’an will have established a new urban convention and exhibition landscape featuring “one core and four zones.” The Airport New City has been entrusted with the mission of developing an aviation-linked convention and exhibition cluster.
　　“The convention and exhibition economy and the airport-based economy exhibit strong functional synergy and spatial integration,” said Cao Yunchun. With Xi'an entering the era of airport-based conventions and exhibitions, convention venues and airport-related facilities are rapidly sharing resources. As a result, exhibitors and attendees will enjoy more convenient transportation and accommodation options, and the transport of exhibits will become safer and faster. “Therefore, developing airport-based conventions and exhibitions is undoubtedly a more advantageous and efficient choice for Xi'an to become an international convention and exhibition hub,” said Cao Yunchun.
　　Currently, the Xi'an Greenland Airport Convention & Exhibition Center has been officially completed. Exhibitions such as the Huaxia Home Expo, the XIMS 2021 Machine Tools and Equipment Show, the 5G China Industry Development Conference, and the China Artificial Intelligence Experience and Innovation Summit will be held here.
　　Next, the Airport New City will develop “three major centers”—the National Air-Port Economic Convention and Exhibition Center (Xi'an Greenland Airport Convention & Exhibition Center), a convention center, and a cultural center—and make every effort to build a specialized town dedicated to conventions and exhibitions. This initiative aims to promote the development of an air-port-based convention and exhibition zone characterized by urban conventions, themed conventions, and commercial-trade conventions, ultimately creating a world-class air-port convention and exhibition city integrating “international conventions and exhibitions, international conferences, a hotel cluster, an office cluster, international commerce, and an international community.”
　　According to the “14th Five-Year Plan for Airport New City in Xixian New Area,” during the 14th Five-Year Period, Airport New City will proactively align itself with the trends of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and will comprehensively promote the upgrading of industrial foundations and the modernization of industrial chains. The city will focus on building a new air-linked economic industrial system characterized by a “3+3+1” framework, which includes three core industries—aircraft manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, and electronic information—as well as three distinctive specialized industries—airline services, commerce and trade exhibitions, and specialty cultural and tourism sectors—and the digital economy industry, thereby creating an air-linked industrial cluster worth hundreds of billions of yuan.
　　“We will continue to leverage the comprehensive functions of the Xixian New Area as a pilot zone for innovative urban development models, accelerate the construction of a national-level aviation economic demonstration zone, and serve as a vital support for Xi'an’s efforts to become a national central city and an international gateway hub,” said He Jian, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Airport New City. The Airport New City will be grounded in the new stage of development, implement the new development philosophy, and establish a new development pattern, focusing on being “a new driving force for high-quality development and a model example of open development.” We aim to optimize the allocation of resource factors on a larger scale and at a higher level, creating five new functional zones: “a new channel for internal and external circulation, a new source of innovation-driven development, a new high ground for aviation-related industries, a new model for port-city integration, and a new gateway for cultural exchanges.” As we embark on the new journey of the 14th Five-Year Plan, we will forge ahead with determination and confidence.