The Guangzhou Development District in the eastern part of the Guangdong provincial capital is expecting scientific innovation to play a big part in its economic construction and industrial upgrade, according to a senior GDD official.

Xia Jian, deputy director of the bureau of scientific innovation and intellectual property rights at the GDD, said the district has mapped out a plan to develop its innovative scientific industries, aiming to establish a number of innovative industrial groups to lead the world and be internationally competitive throughout the upcoming years.

The district is seeking to expand its Sino-foreign cooperation in scientifically innovative industries to achieve that goal, Xia said.

"The GDD will promote the Sino-Singaporean and Sino-European cooperation in the new and high-tech industries, while further enhancing its collaboration with Israel in developing biomedicines, venture capital investments, intelligent equipment and robotics," Xia said.

"The GDD is prioritizing development of these industries and local companies are encouraged to spare no effort to expand investment in scientific innovation," Xia said.

Last year alone, the district invested more than 1 billion yuan ($147 million) to support scientific innovation, doubling the figure recorded in 2014.

A series of preferential policies and regulations will further improve the district's competitive capacity, upgrade its industries and attract more high-tech industries and projects in the future, said Wang Debao, executive vice-president of the Research Institute of Tsinghua, Pearl River Delta.

Established by the Guangdong provincial government and prestigious Tsinghua University in October, Wang's institute has set up 10 high-level research and development centers, with eight having already begun their operations.

Located in Guangzhou's Huangpu district, the GDD is linked to major metropolises on the mainland and in neighboring Hong Kong and Macao by advanced high-speed railway and expressway networks.