On September 21, the theoretical article Hard Technology: A New Engine for Xi'an's High-Quality Urban Development written by Professor Fang Wei from the School of Management was published in the "Experts' Forum" column under the "Theory and Practice" section on Page 6 of Xi'an Daily. Taking the successful holding of this conference as an opportunity, the article expounds on the pivotal role of hard technology in Xi'an's high-quality urban development from the perspective of several "novelties": hard technology represents a new direction for scientific and technological innovation, provides new ideas for optimizing the innovation ecosystem, opens up a new realm for economic development in the new era, and serves as a new engine for the high-quality development of the city and even the country; the new era of high-quality development endows hard technology with a new mission, and the new journey driven by scientific and technological innovation calls for new actions from the city of Xi'an. The article systematically analyzes Xi'an's comparative advantages in hard technology development from four dimensions—science and technology, education, culture and geography—and summarizes the remarkable achievements made by Xi'an in the development of hard technology industries represented by artificial intelligence, optoelectronic chips, new materials, new energy, and aerospace.

In the final part, the article proposes that to promote the high-quality economic and social development of Xi'an in the new era, we must unswervingly implement the innovation-driven development strategy, pool wisdom and strength from all quarters, focus on hard technology, develop large-scale industries, jointly build Xi'an into a well-deserved "Global Capital of Hard Technology", and make "Xi'an contributions" to building a strong nation in science and technology as well as a strong manufacturing power.

Written by/Fang Wei & Zhang Yi Reviewed by/Jia Ming