Rizhao city in East China's Shandong province has been ramping up efforts to further implement its innovation-driven development strategy and strengthen the foundation of the real economy in recent years.

Rizhao promotes innovation-driven development. [Photo/Dazhong News]

According to local officials, steps have been taken to encourage scientific and technological innovation in the city in order to modernize local industries, remove supply bottlenecks, and achieve high-quality development through innovation.

To strengthen the central role of businesses in innovation, Rizhao has offered more incentives to encourage innovation among enterprises.

Rizhao is a coastal city with abundant marine resources. For example, technology to extract chitin and chitosan from shrimp and crab shells for use in industry and agriculture has been developed by Juxian Haibei Biotechnology Co in Rizhao.

As the market changes, the innovative transformation of Haibei Biotechnology Co has encountered a bottleneck. With the help of the Rizhao science and technology bureau, He Lanhai, a visiting professor, and science and technology commissioner at Qilu University of Technology, offered a solution for the company.

With intellectual support from He and other professors from Shandong universities, Haibei Biotechnology Co has developed carboxymethyl chitosan, which can be widely used in medical treatment, food, cosmetics and other fields, and can double profits when compared to the company's original products.

Fifty-four science and technology specialists like He have been assigned to 49 enterprises in Rizhao. They are all selected from relevant universities, research institutes and enterprises to promote greater synergy between industries, academia, and research, as well as facilitate the commercialization and application of advances in science and technology.