An aerial view of Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone [Photo/Dazhong News]

The Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone has been promoting the innovation-driven development strategy to foster long-term sustained and high-quality development since its establishment.

Qingdao high-tech zone has made efforts to strengthen enterprises' dominant positions in technological innovation and accelerate the transformation of the function of the local government in science and technology management.

To nurture technology innovation, the zone has launched a slew of supportive measures and policies to create an enabling environment for the growth of micro, small, and medium technological enterprises, and promote deeper integration of the innovation, industrial, capital, and talent chains, while giving full play to the guiding and supporting role of key high-tech enterprises.

Qingdao high-tech zone fules innovation-driven development. [Photo/Dazhong News]

The zone now is home to 12 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as niche-sector leaders with a high market share and a strong innovation capacity. There are 27 provincial-level gazelle enterprises, 15 provincial-level outstanding SMEs, and 258 municipal-level outstanding SMEs in the zone.

It has also attached great importance to the science and technology financial sector. A three-year action plan has been launched to support sci-tech advancement with a focus on finance.

An angel mother fund of 300 million yuan ($41.16 million) and an industrial mother fund of 1 billion yuan were recently set up in the zone to drive industrial development and stimulate the innovative vitality of enterprises.