Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province was recently included in a national program to facilitate innovation in sustainable development.

Huzhou, which is the only city in the Yangtze River Delta to be included in the program, has been tasked with exploring sustainable development through industrial upgrading.

The local government will use the national program as an opportunity to speed up green transformation in local pillar sectors such as battery manufacturing, said an official at the Huzhou municipal bureau of science and technology.

The city will also strive to optimize its living environment and further promote a green and sustainable lifestyle.

Huzhou has in recent years made concerted efforts to spur innovation and seek sustainable development. 

The city was ranked 30th nationwide in China in terms of innovation capability in 2021, according to a report released by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China.

Some local enterprises have been leading the nation in the application of geographical information and artificial intelligence technologies in environmental management. A system developed by Zhejiang Guoyao Geographic Information Technology Co Ltd, for example, can monitor rural residential environments as well as surface changes of mountains, forests, and lakes.