Mianyang recently unveiled its latest achievements in the technology services sector. As of now, the city is home to 98 large-scale enterprises in this field, generating revenue of 1.415 billion yuan from January to May, a year-on-year surge of 58.9 percent that ranks first in the province in terms of growth rate.
This data reveals that the tech services industry in Mianyang is transitioning from a mere supporting role in economic development to a powerful engine propelling industrial growth. Tech services, an emerging sector that provides intellectual support across the entire innovation chain, aids in the efficient conversion of scientific and technological achievements and offers services ranging from research and development to technology transfer and consulting. Typically, such an industry flourishes in advanced economic zones, making its strong presence in landlocked western China's Mianyang a notable exception.
The answer lies in the city's designation as the "Science and Technology City." Established in September 2000 under a major central government decision, Mianyang holds the unique distinction of being China's only national science and technology city, tasked with pioneering a special zone for socialist innovation. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Mianyang leveraged a collaborative ecosystem for pilot-scale testing with Chengdu and Chongqing, fostering open and interconnected development. Technology contract transactions skyrocketed from 1.4 billion yuan to 23.1 billion yuan over five years, a more than fifteenfold increase.
Currently, Mianyang hosts 20 national-level research institutes and nine national key laboratories, with R&D investment intensity ranking among the top in the nation. This concentration of scientific talent and resources has naturally amplified the demand for tech services as research translates into market-ready products and tech enterprises take root. In response, the city has methodically constructed a comprehensive system covering R&D, technology transactions, pilot testing, inspection, and tech finance. Yet, this broad approach has its shortcomings, including a lack of specialization and a need for more precise industry alignment, which Mianyang is now addressing by anchoring its tech services to a strategic framework.
By 2025, Mianyang had unveiled a "587+" key industrial system, pairing each industrial track with a specific research institute and establishing a dedicated industrial research academy and park. This strategy integrates tech services deeply into the city's industrial chains, positioning them as a "catalyst" for growth. For instance, at the 2026 World Robot Conference, a Mianyang-made robot named Ulink displayed exquisite tea-making skills, captivating audiences as part of a local robotics "team." As a core hub for Sichuan's AI industry chain, Mianyang fosters a "1+2+N" collaborative innovation ecosystem, encompassing one robotics innovation center, two training grounds, and diverse application scenarios, ensuring a closed loop from core components to complete machines and applications.
Tech services also play pivotal roles in nuclear medicine, magnetic materials, and industrial machine tools. In nuclear medicine, for instance, 12 national and provincial innovation platforms have been established, with a globally pioneering FLASH radiotherapy device receiving clinical trial approval earlier this year.
Beyond these, Mianyang has built a robust tech-finance framework with "Sci-Tech Investment" at its core. The chairman of Sichuan Jiuneng New Material Technology, Xi Yan, praised this initiative for breaking the "invest in later stages only" norm by providing crucial early-stage capital and full-cycle support. This backing has enabled his company to focus on technical breakthroughs, successfully bringing a flexible bulletproof material to market. The city now boasts over 320 national and provincial innovation platforms and 33 incubation institutions, with revenue from its 98 large-scale tech service firms growing 3.23-fold over the past five years, making this sector the most promising in Mianyang's producer services landscape.
Looking ahead, Mianyang has been tasked with accelerating the development of a public platform for pilot-scale testing, a critical bridge between innovation and industrial chains. Shifting from a "broad to specialized" approach, the city aims to embed tech services more precisely into key industries. This entails enhancing original innovation capacities through platforms like the Tianfu Industrial Technology Research Institute, adopting a "one chain, one academy" model for new R&D institutions, and fostering national-level industrial design centers.
To improve the conversion of scientific achievements, Mianyang will pursue a dual-engine strategy: innovation platforms for project selection and conversion, and "Sci-Tech Investment" for early-stage funding. The focus remains on pilot-scale maturation, with efforts to establish national-level manufacturing pilot platforms. In inspection and certification, the city plans to build a low-altitude equipment testing center, formulate core standard systems, and attract top-tier companies to develop a comprehensive testing and validation ecosystem. By 2030, Mianyang aspires for its tech services industry to become a vital driver of integrated scientific and industrial innovation, ranking among the top prefecture-level cities in the country in comprehensive competitiveness.