Over years of development, the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone boasts a batch of high-end industrial clusters such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, biological medicine, and energy conservation and environmental protection. [Photo/people.cn]

The Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in East China’s Anhui province has made sustained efforts in industrial transformation and innovation, and encouraged the development of a low-carbon economy and greener lifestyles.

Upholding the development principle of “Promote transformation and upgrading of pillar industries, and accelerate the cultivation and expansion of strategic emerging industries,” the zone has been advancing green and low-carbon transformation of energy, and promoting green and sustainable development, to build the zone into a world-class high-tech industrial park.

In recent years, Hefei tech zone has accelerated the replacement of traditional economic growth drivers with modern ones, and advanced its layout of science and technology by cultivating strategic emerging industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, information safety and new economic forms.

The zone is now a gathering place for the nation’s high-level innovative platforms such as China Speech Valley and the Quantum Technology Center, and it is home to more than 600 high-tech enterprises, including iFlytek, QuantumCTek, Sun Create Electronics, Huami Inc, Sungrow Power Supply, and Anke Biotechnology Group.

In 2018, the zone had 33,935 market entities, and recorded a GDP of 87.26 billion yuan ($12.57 billion). The industrial output of enterprises above designated size –those with an annual revenue of 20 million yuan or higher – totaled 177.2 billion yuan, 76 percent of which was generated by the zone’s high-tech companies.

Strategic emerging industries in the zone have injected strong momentum into its high-quality development. In 2018, the total output value of strategic emerging industries was 96.55 billion yuan, contributing nearly 70 percent of the zone’s industrial growth.

At the same time, the energy conservation and environmental protection industry has maintained steady growth, and 109 energy conservation and environmental protection companies had settled in the zone by the end of 2019. That sector in the zone generated output value of more than 7.2 billion yuan in 2018.

Hefei has more than 60 colleges and universities, and over 300 research institutions. Benefiting from Hefei’s rich scientific and education resources, the zone’s capacity for technological innovation was improved, and it has fostered five scientific and research platforms, adding significant momentum to the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements.

Thanks to the sustained efforts of local governments, the quality of the ecological environment has been continuously improved, and city-industry integration has been further promoted.

According to the local administrative committee, by 2025, Hefei tech zone will have developed a framework to construct a world-class high-tech industrial park; by 2035, it aims to become a world-class high-tech industrial park; and by 2050, it should complete the construction of a world-class high-tech industrial park.