Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province inked a strategic partnership agreement with the Bank of China on April 26, local media reported.

According to the agreement reached by the two, Bank of China will provide Ningbo with an additional credit fund of no less 100 billion yuan ($15.38 billion) during the 14th Five-Year-Plan (2021-25) period.

The fund will be used to bolster the city's manufacturing sector and its ambition to become a pivot city underpinning the nation's "dual-circulation" development pattern.

It will also be utilized to support Ningbo's inclusive finance development, speed up the upgrading of its industrial structure and push ahead with the construction of the Ningbo area of the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

While meeting Liu Jin, deputy Party chief of Bank of China, Peng Jiaxue, Party chief of Ningbo, expressed hope that the bank would help local financial organs facilitate innovation in financial services and ramp up financial support designed for the city.

Liu pointed out that the bank will sustain its efforts to support the development of inclusive finance in Ningbo and comprehensively fuel the city's high-level economic development.