An attendee experiences GoerTek's virtual reality product during the China Weifang Culture and Art Fair held this year in Weifang. Photos Provided To China Daily

From financing to manufacturing, area's policies breathe life into new businesses, Tang Zhihao reports.

Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, one of the first national-level economic zones in China, helps businesses to move up the industrial chain to support regional economic growth.

The zone plans to promote 269 key development projects to provide more support to leading businesses in 2017.

Apart from promoting key projects' construction, industrial experts were also invited to give advice to help businesses set development goals.

Helping businesses

Businesses in the zone are encouraged to set clear development goals to support their long-term growth.

Zhao Fuquan, professor and director of the Automotive Research Institute at Tsinghua University, strongly supported the deal between privately owned automaker Geely and Swedish auto manufacturer Volvo in 2010. He visited Shengrui Transmission Co in March, the developer of the world's first front-engine, front-drive 8-gear auto transmission, also called the 8AT.

"I have heard about the 8AT. Shengrui successfully broke the monopoly of foreign transmission developers in China with the 8AT," Zhao said.

Zhao suggested Shengrui pay more attention to promoting industrial development plans rather than just talk about what has been done in the initial development stage and how difficult the processes were.