Multiple provinces, cities ramp up efforts to boost growth, innovation

Several major Chinese provinces and cities, especially economic powerhouses and innovation-driven regions such as Guangdong and Anhui, have taken proactive steps to seize the opportunities of the new round of scientific and technological innovation and industrial transformations, aiming to establish themselves as leading forces in high-tech fields.

South China's Guangdong Province, a major manufacturing hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has been at the forefront of technological innovation.

Governor Wang Weizhong visited Shenzhen on Monday and Tuesday, accompanied by Tencent chairman Pony Ma Huateng, and inspected advanced humanoid robots developed by Leju Robotics and explored the company's research and development (R&D) efforts and the transformation of these achievements, according to the Shenzhen government's official website on Wednesday.

The visit shows that Guangdong is committed to enhancing high-tech industries, driving technological upgrades and digital transformation, and fostering high-growth sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

On February 5, Guangdong released an action plan for building a modern industrial system, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Guangdong will arrange 1,500 key provincial construction projects with an annual investment plan of 1 trillion yuan ($136.8 billion) in 2025.

Among them, industrial projects account for 50 percent of the total, with 380 projects in five major industries - new-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, and petrochemicals steel, and an annual investment of 165.8 billion yuan, said Ai Xuefeng, a local government official.

Ai underscored Guangdong's commitment to technological innovation, highlighting plans to launch R&D projects in key fields such as humanoid robots, the low-altitude economy, and commercial aerospace.

This initiative reflects Guangdong's continuous efforts to attract investment, foster innovation, and support the growth of businesses, with the aims of pushing forward high-quality industrial development and the transformation of traditional industries, said an industry insider.

"The Greater Bay Area, a key economic region in China, is set to see Shenzhen emerge as a global leader in the embodied intelligence industry through technological innovation and industrial integration," said Liu Shaoshan of the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, noting that the embodied intelligence industry is expected to thrive in the city, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported on Wednesday.

Similarly, East China's Anhui Province emphasized the development of its new quality productive forces through scientific and technological innovation. The capital city Hefei aims to enhance its capacity for high-quality scientific and technological supply. It will focus on making breakthroughs in key technologies and developing strategic emerging industries such as integrated circuits, new displays, and AI. Additionally, Hefei is striving to elevate its new-energy vehicle, photovoltaic new energy, and biopharmaceutical industries to national-level clusters.

This move highlights Anhui's recognition of its strengths and its commitment to integrating into the national development strategy, Meanwhile, Hefei's strong focus on talent and technological innovation in recent years has created unprecedented development opportunities, Wu Hailong, chairman of the Grand Union of Innovation, a platform that aims to incubate innovation enterprises and promote the commercialization of innovation achievements, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Recently, the Grand Union of Innovation signed agreements with a second batch of global partners. In 2025, this platform will strive to gather more than 100,000 outstanding professionals from various fields, the Xinhua News Agency reported.