Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone is home to nearly 2,000 national high-tech enterprises. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]

The Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in Hefei, Anhui province, recently released the zone's statistics, indicating that the zone is on track to become an innovation hub.

The zone's growth rate among many economic indicators has been at the forefront of the city over the past six years, and it has been ranked first in the province's development zone assessment many times.

The total output value of industries above designated size, GDP, industrial added value, and revenue of service industries above designated size of the zone increased from 134.94 billion yuan ($20.3 billion), 71.145 billion yuan, 33.4 billion yuan and 28.11 billion yuan in 2016 to 180.65 billion yuan, 125.27 billion yuan, 55.97 billion yuan and 73.77 billion yuan in 2021, with an average annual increase of 6 percent, 12 percent, 10.9 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively, indicating remarkable results.

In 2016, the number of high-tech enterprises in the zone was 603. Now the zone is home to nearly 2,000 national high-tech enterprises, accounting for 40 percent of the city's total, and a number of high-tech industries in the zone such as artificial intelligence, network security and photovoltaic new energy have maintained double-digit rapid growth figures in recent years.

The total construction area of incubators in the zone expanded from 2.6 million square meters in 2016 to more than 5.5 million sq m. There are now 36 incubators (14 at the national level, accounting for 58 percent of the city) and 35 maker spaces (11 at the national level, accounting for 55 percent of the city).

In 2016, the total number of employees in the zone was 242,700, and by the end of 2021, the figure reached 456,000, which is almost double. Over the past six years, the zone has recruited about 30,000 graduates from key universities across China through a series of activities to attract talents.

Over the past six years, the zone became more and more attractive to investors. The number of foreign-funded enterprises in the zone has exceeded 500, and more than 20 of the world's top 500 companies have invested in the zone. The zone's efforts to attract business and investment have proven to be effective. As of 2021, the number of enterprises in the health industry in the zone has exceeded 260, generating a production and sales scale of nearly 50 billion yuan, and has maintained double-digit growth for six consecutive years.

China Speech Valley Incubator in Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]

Companies in Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone recruit college students at Anhui University. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]