Longwan to further promote innovation

China Eye Valley in Longwan district, Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Wenzhou News]

In 2023, Wenzhou's Longwan district demonstrated significant progress in scientific and technological innovation, as the Wenzhou National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone entered the top 40 percent of national high-tech zones, and the China Eye Valley was recognized as one of the first national demonstration projects for innovation.

Longwan is set to step up efforts to shape new development advantages through innovation. Strategies include creating more research platforms and enhancing their ability to transform research results into industrial projects.

For example, Longwan will accelerate the introduction of a national metrology and testing center and facilitate the operation of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Wenzhou Institute of Technological Innovation in 2024. Additionally, efforts are underway to finalize the agreement on establishing Nanyang Technological University's Wenzhou Research Institute and add one new provincial-level R&D institution.

Longwan plans to unleash the innovative potential of enterprises, aiming to become home to 100 new high-tech enterprises and 200 provincial-level small and medium-sized tech companies. Initiatives also include increasing R&D expenses for industrial enterprises above the designated size by 10 percent and achieving an R&D spending equivalent to 4.0 percent of regional GDP.

The district aims to enhance financial support for innovation by introducing two new funds and increasing the total scale of existing funds to over 3 billion yuan. It is also actively recruiting talent, with the aim of nurturing more than 12 nationally and provincially-leading talents and welcoming an additional 15,000 university graduates in 2024.