Night view of Binzhou, Shandong province [Photo/IC]

Binzhou in East China's Shandong province has been ramping up efforts to comprehensively deepen reform and adhere to innovation-driven development to promote high-quality development in recent years. 

The city has launched a slew of measures to promote industrial transformation and upgrading to fuel economic development. 

From January to October this year, the city's industrial revenue above designated size reached 739.48 billion yuan ($116.09 billion), ranking third in the province. Industrial profits above designated size reached 66.1 billion yuan, up 239.4 percent, ranking first in the province in terms of total amount and growth rate.

As the pacemaker for developing the aluminum industry in Shandong, Binzhou is building a world-class high-end aluminum industry base which highlights innovation and green development, local officials said.

In the first three quarters of this year, the operating revenue of Binzhou's lightweight new material equipment manufacturing industry cluster reached 363.01 billion yuan, up 30.7 percent year-on-year.

Driven by the Bohai Advanced Technology Research Institute and the Weiqiao National Science Research Institute, Binzhou has formed an innovative environment that is continuing to develop through integrating scientific and technological research and development, innovation incubation, industry cultivation and service support.

Talent is the top resource for scientific development. From January to November this year, Binzhou has introduced 115 high-end experts. It recruited 11,681 undergraduates, including 1,348 with master's degrees or doctor's degrees.

Sun Xuesen, director of the Binzhou science and technology bureau, introduced that at present, Binzhou has achieved full coverage of the R&D institutions of large industrial enterprises, and the number of high-tech enterprises has increased by more than 30 percent annually.

In 2020, the city's R&D investment accounted for 3.36 percent of its GDP, ranking first in the province. There were 81.8 R&D personnel per 10,000 employed persons, ranking second in the province, according to Sun.