In-Depth Research | Scientific and Technological Innovation: How Enterprises Are Taking Center Stage — A Study of Enterprises in Anhui Province

Once known primarily as a major agricultural province, Anhui has in recent years committed itself to driving industrial innovation through the advancement of science and technology. These efforts have yielded notable results. The province has achieved a slew of breakthroughs in fields such as quantum information, fusion energy, and deep-space exploration. Emerging industries like artificial intelligence (AI), new energy vehicles, and high-end equipment manufacturing are flourishing, while traditional sectors such as steel, non-ferrous metals, and building materials are upgrading at an accelerating pace. All this progress has propelled Anhui’s total economic aggregate to the 11th place nationwide, with the revenue of its large industrial enterprises ranking fifth and its innovation capacity firmly in the top tier in the country. 

During an inspection tour of Anhui in October 2024, President Xi Jinping observed, “When it comes to scientific and technological innovation, Anhui calls to mind the old saying: ‘After just a few days away, the place looks completely different.’ Each time I visit, I see new advances and developments here.” 

A key reason behind Anhui’s emergence as a pacesetter in scientific and technological innovation is that its enterprises have fully played their principal role in driving innovation. Nearly 90% of Anhui’s innovation platforms at the provincial level and above are enterprise-led. The province also ranks among the top nationwide in the number of high-tech enterprises, small and medium-sized tech firms, and companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board. 

How, then, have enterprises come to play the principal role in Anhui’s innovation endeavors? And how has the local government effectively empowered them to take center stage? To answer these questions, a joint research group from the Political Commentary Department of Qiushi Journal and Anhui Daily recently traveled across the province to explore the forces driving enterprises to pursue innovation and seize the initiative in development.

I. How enterprises have taken the lead in innovation

In recent years, Anhui has seen the emergence of more than 8,000 leading technology-based enterprises and enterprises that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, alongside 23,000 high-tech companies and 35,000 small and medium-sized tech firms. These enterprises have, like a lush forest of towering trees, sturdy shrubs, and thriving seedlings, gradually grown into the backbone of the province’s innovation ecosystem. Just what has been the role of enterprises in Anhui’s recent surge in scientific and technological innovation?

Taking the lead in major scientific and technological programs and serving as a bridge between basic research and commercial application

Programs of this kind often involve long timelines, immense investment, and complex engineering issues. With their strong market instincts, experience in industrial application, and engineering teams, enterprises have the capacity to marshal capital, production lines, supply chains, and other resources to support sci-tech research. This ability allows them to hatch commercially viable products at each stage of the research process and bring them swiftly to market. 

During its trip to Anhui, the research team learned that many enterprises are actively aligning themselves with national and regional strategies for technological innovation. They are enthusiastically taking on research tasks and delivering a string of significant technological breakthroughs. In the field of quantum technology, for instance, QuantumCTek Co., Ltd. played a pioneering role in the development of the quantum processor Zuchongzhi 3.0, which has set a new world record in quantum computational performance. The company’s controlling shareholder, China Telecom Quantum Group, has ensured continuous technological iteration and fostered a sustainable industrial ecosystem by connecting research institutes, industry users, and partners along all segments of the supply chain through open platforms, collaborative R&D, and product incubation. “Enterprises can serve as connectors between basic research and industrial application as well as propellers translating technological advantages into national competitiveness,” explained Zhang Jianxiao, general manager of the sci-tech innovation and strategic development department at China Telecom Quantum Group. The company has drawn on its world-leading quantum computing chips to develop the Tianyan-504 and Tianyan-287 superconducting quantum computers, and to launch Tianyan, the world’s first quantum computing cloud platform with quantum-advantage capabilities. These advances have helped accelerate the transformation of quantum technology from an abstract concept into a practical tool.

The exhibition hall on the opening day of the Quantum Technology and Industry Conference 2025 in Hefei, Anhui Province, November 20, 2025. The conference was themed “A Century of Quantum: Shaping a Smarter Future.” PEOPLE’S DAILY / PHOTO BY LIU YUCAI

Drawn by these industry leaders, over 100 firms in the quantum sector have clustered in Anhui. But the province’s ambitions extend far beyond this field. Leveraging its 23 national key laboratories and an array of major scientific facilities, it has dedicated itself to building sci-tech innovation hubs for quantum information, fusion energy, and deep space exploration. Across all three sectors, leading tech firms in Anhui are spearheading numerous research projects on foundational technologies, allowing a growing number of enterprises to achieve breakthroughs in their own specialized areas.

According to Liu Haiqing, founder of China T-Wave Technology Co., Ltd., his company developed a security screening system based on a diagnostic technology originally used in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as China’s “artificial sun.” Now widely deployed in high-speed rail, subways, and other settings, the system has met with a highly positive market response.

Helping to boost Anhui’s competitiveness and reshaping its development trajectory with cutting edge technologies 

The most important factor in determining whether enterprises can come out on top in fiercely competitive markets is their ability to master core technologies in key fields and make the best use of local resource endowments to enhance their competitive position. In doing so, they can become the growth poles and connective tissues that underpin high-quality local economic development. 

Chery Automobile is a case in point. In 2025, the company exported 1.34 million automobiles, a year-on-year increase of 17.4% and ranking first among Chinese passenger vehicle exporters for the 23rd consecutive year. “An enterprise’s growth and market advantage must rest on a solid foundation—namely, core technologies in key fields,” noted Chery Automobile Chairman Yin Tongyue. The company has steadily built formidable capabilities in auto technologies by pooling global resources through its Yaoguang and Kaiyang laboratories. Thanks to the technological edge it has built over the years, Chery has become a standout among Chinese automakers on the global stage. Through its success, it has helped Anhui build an internationally competitive industry cluster for new energy vehicles. 

Another example is iFLYTEK, which is dubbed China’s national team in AI by industry insiders. “Competition in the AI sector is akin to a marathon—only those that have technological independence can lead the pack in the closing stages,” explained Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFLYTEK. The company has achieved extensive breakthroughs in three major areas: intelligent speech, industry AI solutions, and computing infrastructure. It has also teamed up with other leading companies across various sectors to release over 20 industry-specific large AI models covering more than 300 application scenarios. In doing so, it has empowered development in numerous segments of the economy and society through the dissemination of new technologies and helped Anhui accelerate its drive to build a leading hub for AI innovation. 

Leading efforts to improve quality and efficiency and promoting innovation, high-quality development, and industry competitiveness 

As the principal agents of innovation, enterprises can drive quality improvements and technological upgrades in their respective industries by promoting precise alignment between innovation and industrial chains through continuous technological breakthroughs and business model innovations.

Bengbu, a traditional industrial city in northern Anhui, boasts strong foundations in the new materials industry. One of the local industry leaders is Bengbu Glass Industry Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. (hereinafter the Institute), a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group Co., Ltd. “Focusing on the frontiers of science, technology, and our own sector, we have accelerated breakthroughs in core technologies in key areas to power improvements in quality and efficiency in the industry,” said Peng Shou, president of the Institute and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The Institute has overcome a host of technological bottlenecks, developing globally advanced new materials, such as 30-micrometer ultrathin flexible glass, high-generation display glass, and power-generating glass. These advances have propelled Bengbu toward its goal of becoming a national base for the new glass materials industry. Central to this effort is the development of an industrial cluster for next-generation displays spanning the entire industrial chain from the key raw material of silica sand to substrate R&D, high-end processing, and final application.

In traditional industries, too, Anhui’s enterprises are reshaping the industrial chain and enhancing their position in the value chain by adopting new technologies, processes, and equipment. “By accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the cement and building material industries, we are actively serving and integrating into the new development pattern,” explained Yang Jun, chairman of Anhui Conch Group Co., Ltd. The company has been pursuing a low-carbon transition driven by digital technologies. It opened the cement industry’s very first smart factory in 2018 and launched the industrial internet platform Yungong in 2022. In April 2025, it partnered with Huawei to release the first large AI model for cement building materials. The model, which has so far been applied in more than 40 scenarios, including quality control and production optimization, has become a new engine for smart, high-quality development of the industry. 

Generating strong momentum for sustainable development by cultivating, attracting, retaining, and making the best use of innovative and entrepreneurial talent

To play a greater role in technological innovation, it is critical that enterprises bring out the best in their talent, the most vital of all resources. During its time in Anhui, the research team found that many local enterprises have drawn up talent development plans, implemented targeted recruitment programs, and stepped up systematic training efforts, in a bid to ensure that they and their staff grow in tandem. 

Ke Yuchao works at Anhui Zhongding Sealing Parts Co., Ltd., where he is deputy general manager and director of the company’s technology center. After earning a Ph.D. from Tsinghua University in 2016, he returned to his hometown of Ningguo in southeast Anhui to join Zhongding Group. Thanks to the company’s high-caliber talent development program, he steadily rose up the ranks to become a chief technician. He steered his team to breakthroughs on multiple key research projects, filing over 20 patent applications in the process. By bringing together talented people and drawing on their expertise, Zhongding has harnessed innovation to power its transformation from a township enterprise into an industry leader in automotive parts with an annual operating revenue of 32 billion yuan. 

To address its talent pipeline needs, LONGi-LERRI Solar, based in Chuzhou, a city in eastern Anhui, partnered with Chuzhou Polytechnic to set up a dedicated photovoltaic technology program with curricula tailored to specific workforce needs. Over the past few years, more than 60 enterprises in the city have teamed up with 13 academic institutions to launch tailor-made programs, training over 3,200 skilled workers. Recognizing the vital role enterprises play in attracting, cultivating, retaining, and utilizing scientific and technological talent, Anhui has continued to refine its policy framework to support their efforts. In particular, it has prioritized support for enterprises in key industrial chains, enterprises that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, new types of R&D institutions, and firms engaged in the application of scientific and technological advances. It has also provided policy support for local professionals. These efforts aim to bring about a virtuous cycle in which enterprises enable talent to shine and talent helps enterprises thrive. By the end of 2025, Anhui’s skilled workforce had exceeded 8.2 million, with 2.8 million highly skilled professionals among its ranks.

II. How Anhui has created platforms to put enterprises on center stage

As the key cultivators of the innovation ecosystem, government departments must open up pathways, provide support, and create space for growth. Only in this way will enterprises be free to focus their energies on innovation and compete in broader markets. Anhui has worked hard to develop a scientific and technological innovation system to allow enterprises to act as the main players, and to forge pathways through which science and technology boost the development of enterprises, industries, and the economy. Just what exactly has the province gotten right in this process?

Fostering the willingness and ability to apply scientific and technological advances through institutional reforms

The application of scientific and technological advances often involves navigating the transfer, ownership restructuring, or disposal of state-owned assets. As a result, researchers often find themselves in a difficult bind. If applications generate a profit, how should returns on state-owned assets be distributed? If losses occur, who bears the responsibility? Creating a sense of hesitation among researchers, these issues have often stalled the application of research advances. To address them, Anhui launched a reform in 2022 to grant researchers ownership over the technological advances they achieve on the job. Under a new model that enables the granting of ownership, the transfer of advances, and agreed revenue-sharing, research teams that receive ownership over advances from their institutions are free to independently establish businesses.

CXMT’s latest DDR5 memory products on display at the 22nd China International Semiconductor Expo, November 25, 2025. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Anhui, CXMT is an integrated memory manufacturer. VISUAL CHINA

For example, Wei Yuxue, an associate professor at Anhui University’s School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, applied to the university to commercialize a research outcome that had remained in the laboratory for 18 years. The project was valued at 5 million yuan. Under the terms of the ownership arrangement, the university took a 20% stake in the technology, with the remaining 80% held by the research team. On this basis, the team invested their share as equity to found Hefei Leixing Technology Co., Ltd. In just over two years, the company has partnered with more than 30 enterprises and research institutes to develop catalysts and thermal management materials. 

This reform has since been rolled out to 106 research institutes across Anhui. Researchers have been granted ownership rights over a total of 2,153 job-related research outputs, with a combined value estimated at more than 900 million yuan. It has also resulted in researchers establishing or taking equity stakes in 148 companies.

Building connected and dynamic innovation chains through the development of dedicated platforms 

In recent years, localities across China have made significant progress in promoting the application of scientific and technological advances. Nevertheless, many promising outcomes remain dormant in laboratories. “Without pilot-scale testing platforms and sufficient engineering capabilities, it is extremely difficult to advance laboratory results to the industrialization stage,” noted Li Zhongyuan. Li is R&D manager in the Platform Development Department at the Hefei Institute of Technology Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Hefei Institute, CAS). As a critical link connecting innovation, technology, and industry, pilot-scale testing verifies the feasibility and stability of technologies and prepares them for commercial application. Without such testing, the success rate of scientific and technological application stands at just 30%; with it, the figure rises to 80%. 

To address this issue, Anhui launched a special initiative to expand its pilot-scale testing and incubation capacity in June 2022. This initiative has supported enterprises, universities, research institutes, and specialized institutions in establishing a number of shared pilot-scale testing bases. The Hefei Institute, CAS was among the first batch of such bases in Anhui. A wide range of advances, such as technologies for new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles, have undergone pilot-scale testing and technical optimization here. These bases have significantly enhanced the maturity of research outcomes and rapidly increased their technological value. 

To date, Anhui has built more than 3,800 key scientific research platforms, including provincial-level key laboratories, engineering research centers, and pilot-scale testing bases, thereby effectively promoting resource integration and collaborative innovation.

Making sustained investment to address difficulties in securing financing 

Innovative technology enterprises are typically high-growth, high-risk, and asset-light ventures, a profile poorly suited to traditional lending models. Whereas banks tend to prefer tangible collateral such as real estate and equipment, the most valuable assets these enterprises possess are often intangible: software, patents, and other forms of intellectual property. As a result, many find themselves struggling to secure the funding they need.

To address this issue, Anhui has focused its energies on establishing a sound science and technology finance policy framework. It has pioneered a model featuring government guidance, cross-industry collaboration, and market-oriented operations. This has helped channel financial resources into the innovation sector, based on an investment philosophy of committing early, backing smaller firms, focusing on the long term, and supporting advanced core technologies. In 2024, the province’s fiscal expenditure on science and technology reached 53.24 billion yuan, accounting for 6.1% of general public budget expenditure. Anhui has also established a 200-billion-yuan industrial guidance fund and “6+1” state-established funds totaling 100 billion yuan—comprising six funds-of-funds and one strategic direct investment fund. These moves have created a funding matrix that covers every industry and every stage of the enterprise lifecycle.

BOE Technology Group’s decision to establish operations in Hefei stands as a prime example of how capital can catalyze an entire industrial ecosystem. In 2008, to encourage BOE to locate its sixth generation general TFT-LCD production line in the city, Hefei contributed 3 billion yuan of municipal funds to the project at a time when the city’s total fiscal revenue was just 30.1 billion yuan. In the years since, BOE has invested more than 100 billion yuan in Hefei, drawing over 100 supporting enterprises to the city and helping to build one of the largest display manufacturing bases in the world.

Anhui has taken the further step of introducing an innovative joint growth plan to provide financial support for technology enterprises. Under this initiative, the province has built a collaborative finance platform, rolling out a range of financial products tailored to every stage of enterprise development, including credit loans for startups, relay loans for firms in the growth phase, acquisition financing for mature companies, as well as points-based lending and loans for applying technological advances. To date, more than 210 billion yuan in loans have been granted to 15,500 enterprises involved in the initiative. As of the end of September 2025, outstanding technology-related loans in Anhui stood at 1.7 trillion yuan, 857.8 billion yuan of which had been extended to technology enterprises. 

Reducing the number of visits companies have to make to multiple administrative departments in an effort to improve the business environment 

Innovative technology companies in some localities have reported that government services, to varying degrees, are still affected by issues such as a lack of policy transparency, insufficient cross department coordination, and cumbersome procedures. Such problems not only hinder innovation efficiency but also delay product launches. For example, when companies go through processes such as listing, securing financing, and bidding on contracts, they often have to visit multiple government departments just to obtain a certificate of no compliance violations.

In response, Anhui has rolled out more than 800 measures designed to improve its business environment. One such measure is about the business public credit report, which companies can generate online themselves, replacing individual certificates that previously had to be obtained from more than 40 different government departments. Since March 2023, more than 316,400 downloads of these reports have been registered across the province, eliminating the need for more than 6.3 million certificates of no compliance violations. This step has greatly enhanced administrative efficiency for businesses. 

Another example is the automatic-approval platform. Under this initiative, government departments use data matching and automated notifications to identify companies that are eligible for preferential policies and directly deliver funds or services to them, without the need for an application. In the more than two years since its launch, the platform has been expanded to areas such as fiscal fund disbursement and tax breaks, facilitating the distribution of 21.83 billion yuan in funds to 45,000 enterprises. A continuously improved business environment has given enterprises a stronger sense of fulfillment and fueled their innovation vitality.

III. Drawing insights from Anhui’s explorations and practices

Since the start of the new era in 2012, China has committed enormous efforts to implementing the innovation-driven development strategy. As a result, the central role of enterprises in innovation has been greatly reinforced, leading to substantial growth in their R&D investment, patent applications, and application of scientific and technological advances. However, the role of enterprises has not yet been fully leveraged, and progress remains uneven. There is still considerable room for improvement in areas such as the allocation of innovation resources, collaboration across the innovation chain, the efficiency with which new research outcomes are applied, and the recruitment and cultivation of innovative personnel.

Anhui’s experiments and practices show that if we follow the laws underlying technological innovation and have the courage to tackle tough reform challenges, it is possible to overcome these obstacles, empower enterprises as the principal entities in innovation, and unlock their innovative vitality.

Integrating regional strengths with national strategies

Anhui has given top priority to supporting the development of national strength in strategic science and technology. It has spared no effort to advance the development of critical national science infrastructure, including national laboratories, the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, and large-scale scientific facilities. This has allowed the province to accommodate and gather a wide range of innovation resources. To precisely align these resources with its own industrial and educational foundations, Anhui has established five research institutes under the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, covering such areas as energy, AI, health, data space, and the environment. This made the province well-placed to secure a leading position in scientific, technological, and industrial development going forward and to gradually build up strengths in both innovation and industry. 

For example, Hefei has drawn on its cluster of large-scale scientific facilities to develop emerging industries, such as quantum technology and AI. Leveraging its designation as a national innovation-driven city, Wuhu has focused on new energy vehicles and aerospace. Chuzhou has actively integrated into the G60 Science and Innovation Corridor in the Yangtze River Delta region to build up its electronic information and photovoltaic sectors. Seizing the opportunity afforded by the development of a national innovation demonstration zone, Bengbu has forged clusters in new materials and high-end equipment manufacturing. This dual approach of harnessing national strategic platforms and region-specific industries has helped drive coordinated and differentiated development across Anhui, unlocking the innovation potential of each region.

Aligning technological supply with market demand

The application of scientific and technological advances is, in essence, a process of matching supply with demand. As direct participants in market activities, enterprises have the ability to quickly identify and respond to market demand, which gives them a unique advantage in judging the direction in which technological development should move. Therefore, the key to addressing the mismatch between the supply of technological advances and the demand for them is to let enterprises define the issues, collaborative teams work out the solutions, and the market evaluate the results.

To foster an enterprise-led, market-based innovation ecosystem, Anhui has pursued ongoing reforms in areas such as project initiation, implementation, outcome evaluation, personnel incentives, platform development, and sci-tech investment. It has established advisory committees for high-tech innovation and innovation platform development, both of which have actively recruited enterprise experts. Furthermore, the province has stipulated that at least half of major technological research projects should be based on the demands of enterprises, and half or more experts reviewing such projects must come from enterprises. In addition, enterprises are required to take the lead in implementing over 80% of such projects and contribute a corresponding share of the project funding and R&D expenses. These measures have further reinforced the position of enterprises and ensured that innovation resources flow precisely to where industry needs them most.

Advancing both tiered development and innovation-chain coordination

Scientific and technological innovation requires both elite vanguards to tackle decisive issues and broad-based forces to press ahead on all fronts. From eaglet enterprises to gazelles, unicorns, high-tech firms, and technology leaders, each tier of enterprise has different innovation resource needs and plays a distinct role in the innovation chain. Targeted policies are thus needed to promote graduated cultivation.

Anhui has launched dedicated initiatives to grow leading scientific and technological enterprises, prepare technology firms for listing, and develop unicorns, with fiscal, taxation, and financing policies tailored to meet each enterprise’s needs. It has also launched an initiative to double the number of high-tech enterprises and technology-based small and medium-sized firms, with the aim of expanding and strengthening the province’s contingent of technology companies.

Anhui has followed a development path of first building leading enterprises and then industrial chains, industrial clusters, and ultimately industrial ecosystems. On this basis, it has established a collaborative research model that is spearheaded by leading enterprises with the participation of both upstream and downstream firms, universities, and research institutes. This model has spurred leading scientific and technological enterprises to open up innovation resources to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and provide them with technological guidance and support in the application of research outcomes. It has thus driven integrated innovation among enterprises of all sizes, facilitated the clustering of emerging industries into innovation chains, and helped these clusters scale up into powerful ecosystems. 

Giving equal weight to recruiting and cultivating talent and to the sharing of talent 

Talent is the foundation of innovation. Enterprises with first-rate innovative talent will inevitably command an advantage and gain the initiative in scientific and technological innovation. 

With a commitment to leveraging high-level scientific and technological innovation platforms, Anhui has introduced supportive talent policies. It has encouraged enterprises to create positions, recruit talent, evaluate performance, and set compensation on their own terms. All this has enabled such platforms to attract high-caliber personnel, which in turn has helped drive the development of these platforms. 

The province has also strengthened coordination between universities, enterprises, and research institutes. This has seen it breaking down barriers between universities and enterprises, and between regions, too. Furthermore, it has integrated enterprise needs, scientific and technological resources, and real-world scenarios into every stage of the talent cultivation process, and promoted the shared use of talent platforms. It has also pioneered a “talent enclave” model to encourage high-end talent to work across regions and institutions, and turn enterprises into reservoirs of talent. This has given rise to a dynamic in which talent and enterprise development drive each other forward.

This article was written by Chen Yilin and Wang Hongyi.

(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No. 3, 2026)