Weihai Port in Shandong province [Photo/Iqilu News]

Innovation is a powerful engine for Weihai's economic development. It makes the city more competitive and more energetic, said local officials.

The coastal city in Shandong province has built a "1+4+N" high-end innovation platform system to fuel the city's economic development.

Since the establishment of the platform system, the Weihai Industrial Technology Research Institute has made great progress in platform cohesion, industrial support, and talent innovation by focusing on regional scientific and technological innovation needs.

Up to now, 25 high-end platforms have been incorporated into the "1+4+N" system, which has featured 147 innovative institutions and gathered 24 academicians and 376 doctoral talents, providing intellectual support for regional industrial transforming and upgrading.

The high-end innovation platform in Weihai has undertaken 39 sci-tech projects above provincial level and 110 of its research findings have been transformed into actual productive forces.

In 2021, there were 1,049 high-tech enterprises in the city, with output value of new and high-tech industries accounting for 69.8 percent of its GDP. The enterprise innovation index and innovation environment index rank first in the province.