Innovation China, a major initiative of the China Association for Science and Technology designed to integrate science and technology with the economy, is driving strong growth of local economies and enterprises, participants in the initiative's 2022 annual conference agreed on Monday. 

In Zhejiang province, which is piloting trial programs for Innovation China, the initiative has been recognized for its strong support in the province's efforts to build a national demonstration area for high-quality development and common prosperity. 

According to Xie Zhiyuan, vice president of the Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology, a number of innovation bases and federations of enterprises and academic societies have been set up among other efforts such as introducing academic resources to mountainous areas, and attracting top scholars including academicians. 

In Tai'an city, Shandong province, the initiative has proved to be a major source of technological strength in pursuing a new path of industrialization. 

Last year, the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew 8.3%, said Yang Hongtao, secretary of the CPC Tai'an Municipal Committee. 

To provide tailored services for high-end equipment manufacturing, the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society has set up a team of over 30 academicians and 50 high-level experts together with 15 national academic societies to provide technological services. 

So far, the team has served over 200 enterprises, helped over 10,000 technology workers and solved over 40 key technological difficulties, said Chen Xuedong, vice president of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society and an academician in the Chinese Academy of Engineering. 

Innovation China is also attracting many leading enterprises to join it with their own innovation platforms to deliver greater benefits. 

Haier, one of China's top home appliance-makers, is actively integrating its HOPE innovation platform into Innovation China, including efforts to build a digital home coordination center, said Wang Ye, vice president of Haier. 

The HOPE Platform has also cooperated with over 20 academic societies to facilitate communication among enterprises, universities and research institutes so that technological advances can be applied in a more targeted and professional manner, according to Wang. 

Innovation China has also been proved a boon for scientists and engineers starting up businesses in China. 

Zinergy Shenzhen, a company specializing in flexible technology for the Internet of Things with a team of scientists and engineers from the Royal Academy of Engineering in the U.K. and Cambridge University, had a tough time when it first launched in 2019 and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the following year. 

According to Nie Zanxiang, general manager of the company, it was support from the China Association for Science and Technology and the Innovation China initiative that allowed the company to get through these difficult periods and open up new prospects for development. 

The initiative is also a good way to mobilize all innovation factors including institutional investors, said Zhang Lei, a member of the advisory committee of Innovation China and founder of Hillhouse Capital, a private equity firm. 

To achieve innovation-driven high-quality development is a correct but at the same time difficult path, and needs the joint efforts of researchers, entrepreneurs, policy makers and investors, explained Zhang, saying innovation projects accounted for 80% of Hillhouse's investment projects in 2021.

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