Established in 2022, the Wuhan Institute of Industrial Innovation and Development in central China’s Hubei Province has integrated universities, academics, experts, leading talent teams, and core enterprises to meet innovation needs in fields such as optoelectronic information, health, and high-end equipment manufacturing.
The institute has set up 17 professional research institutes and nearly 30 corporate innovation centers. From special optical fibers to aerospace power systems, several key core technologies have been transferred and put to use.
Visiting the institute on Tuesday during an inspection tour to the province, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on scientific and technological workers and entrepreneurs to work together to continuously improve the overall effectiveness of the innovation system and build a modern industrial system.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, urged Hubei to forge ahead in the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, speed up efforts to build itself into a strategic fulcrum for the rise of the country’s central region, and write its own chapter in Chinese modernization.
Comprehensively deepening reforms
Following the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, which concluded in July, China reiterated its commitment to further deepening reforms comprehensively.
Placing scientific and technological innovation at the core of the country’s overall development, China has given full play to the leading role of innovation, injecting strong momentum into high-quality development.
For Hubei, the province has accelerated the formation of a scientific and technological matrix featuring one national laboratory, 10 provincial laboratories, eight large scientific facilities, 163 national innovation platforms, and 477 new research and development institutions.
In 2023, there were 25,461 high-tech enterprises in Hubei, a year-on-year increase of 26.4 percent, ranking sixth in the country for the first time, according to the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Statistics.
In August, the province pledged efforts to cultivate future industries in areas such as energy, materials and manufacturing to support and promote new industrialization.
Xi called on Hubei to enhance the research and development of key core technologies, build a collaborative innovation mechanism for large and medium-sized enterprises, and improve the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.
Emphasizing the need to expand high-level opening up, he urged greater efforts to build a fairer and more dynamic market environment, advance regional cooperation, deepen domestic and foreign trade integration reform, and actively participate in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.
Advancing rural revitalization
Jiayu County in Hubei’s Xianning City is a superior area for distinctive agricultural products in China. With an annual output of 1.27 million tonnes, the county’s vegetable industry has advanced the area’s rural revitalization efforts.
To help farmers increase their income, the county cooperated with scientific research institutes, such as the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, to breed improved vegetable varieties.
Jiayu vigorously promotes the construction of standardized demonstration areas and improves planting by promoting new models, such as crop rotation.
Through a production model featuring companies, cooperatives and farmers, the county’s vegetable farm has attracted 17,000 farmers to participate in the industry’s management process and related work.
To advance Chinese modernization, efforts must be made to speed up rural revitalization, Xi said while visiting the county, encouraging the villagers to boost the economic returns of specialty industries and make their village more beautiful.
Since the start of this year, China has put forward a series of arrangements to deepen reform to advance rural revitalization.
Relevant departments also focus on various areas, including cultivating specialty industries, building industrial clusters, and supporting consumption to increase agricultural income, aiming to improve the support system for strengthening agriculture, benefiting agriculture, and enriching agriculture.
Xi urged efforts to explore the potential of specialty industries and diversified operations to improve the quality and efficiency of agricultural development.