Jinan Science Innovation Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. [Photo/Jinan Daily]

Jinan ranked 36th in the 2022 list of top 100 Scientific Research Cities, 21 places higher than its 2021 ranking. The city has made great strides in developing its regional innovation system, with eight of its innovation indicators ranking first in Shandong province.

This year, the city will push forward the development of the Jinan Science Innovation Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and strive to add 900 new high-tech enterprises while making breakthroughs in five to 10 key core technologies.

Official statistics show that in 2022, the value of contracted technology transactions grew by 28 percent year-on-year to 61.45 billion yuan ($9.07 billion). Five State key laboratories and 10 provincial key laboratories were approved to be built in Jinan, and seven new technology innovation centers at the provincial level settled in the city last year. A total of 14 provincial-level novel research and development (R&D) institutions were set up, and the number of newly established high-tech enterprises is expected to exceed 1,300.

The total R&D investment in Jinan reached 30.67 billion yuan last year, up 15.5 percent year-on-year, while the proportion of R&D input in the city's regional GDP hit 2.68 percent, 0.34 percentage points higher than the provincial level.

The Jinan Science Innovation Center of CAS has become a calling card for Jinan since its establishment in 2020, and has attracted a number of national-level scientific research institutions and high-level innovative talent to settle in Jinan, helping the city make technological breakthroughs in key fields. A number of the city's advanced technologies, such as plant gene editing, light gas turbines, nuclear radiation monitoring, and high-end microscopic optical equipment, now stand at the forefront in China.

This year, Jinan will make continuous efforts to promote the construction of the Jinan Science Innovation Center of CAS, and engage in research on cutting-edge science and technology to seek more breakthroughs.

Jinan will also focus on increasing the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises in science and technology, and fostering a number of high-tech enterprises, 900 of which will be added to the city this year.