During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–25), Tai'an in East China's Shandong has focused on advancing its industries towards high-end and intelligent development.

The drive for high-end industrial growth has gained considerable strength. The integration of technological and industrial innovation has resulted in the establishment of the national advanced dyeing technology innovation center and a provincial-level manufacturing pilot platform (one of only nine in the province).

The city has had 778 projects selected for provincial technological innovation initiatives, while 81 products have been recognized as provincial first-of-their-kind technologies. Core products such as fiberglass and specialty steel anchor rods have gained leading domestic market shares. Breakthrough technologies like electronic-grade silane, have ended foreign monopolies, marking critical "zero breakthroughs".

Intelligent transformation has progressed significantly. Tai'an is leading the province in driving digital-intelligent transformation, capitalizing on "AI + Industry" opportunities to help enterprises move from digitalization 1.0 to intelligent 2.0. The city has executed 1,725 key transformation projects and constructed 15,800 5G base stations.

Digital transformation now encompasses 95.1 percent of industrial enterprises above a designated size. Tai'an has also developed 31 provincial industrial internet platforms, two national specialized platforms, and three national digital leader enterprises (tying for second in the province). Seventeen projects have been selected for the provincial industrial empowerment pilot program. For three consecutive years, Tai'an has ranked among China's top 100 digital economy cities, leading the province in digital transformation efforts.