Hohhot takes on a completely different character when the sun goes down. [Photo provided to en.hhhtnews.com]

Hohhot city – capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – ranked 55th on the list of the top 100 cities with innovative capacity in 2022 in China, released by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Institute of Scientific and Technological Information of China on Feb 15.

The ranking increased by 12 places compared with the previous year.

What's more, the city's innovation capability index ranked 50th – up two places from the previous year.

By the end of 2022, the Ministry of Science and Technology had supported a total of 103 cities and districts in developing as national innovative cities.

These 103 cities have 51 percent of the country's total population, but have attracted 85 percent of the country's R&D funding and 72 percent of the local financial technology investment. The cities aim to be home to 85 percent of the country's high-tech enterprises and generate 81 percent of the country's high-tech enterprise revenue, contributing 67 percent of the country's GDP.

Since Hohhot was successfully selected as a national innovation city in 2011, it has continuously improved its policies, developed innovation platforms and cultivated a number of technology-based enterprises.

It has continued to optimize its environment for innovation and development and achieved excellent results in the commercialization of science and technology achievements.

In 2022, research and development investment in the city reached 5.24 billion yuan ($761 million), a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. The Hohhot municipal science and technology bureau was awarded the National Advanced Unit of Science and Technology Management System.

In 2023, Hohhot will focus on the implementation of more than 40 key technology research projects in six major industrial clusters – in the dairy, biomedicines, photovoltaics, digital economy, modern logistics and cultural tourism sectors. Moreover, it will push to achieve an increase in R&D investment of more than 13 percent.

In addition, the city is expected to boast 500 high-tech enterprises, 560 small and medium-sized technological enterprises and 30 technological service organizations.