International approach delivers huge growth

Last year saw 2,236 companies set up operations in the zone, People's Daily reported. Xiamen is committed to making itself an innovation hub and is doing so by providing funds, equipment and technical assistance.

From Jan 1 to May 13, Xiamenbased enterprises have collectively received 657 million yuan in awards and subsidies, People's Daily reported.

The city invested 180 million yuan to build an innovation platform with Xiamen University — the Tan Kah Kee Innovation Laboratory — Kong Shuguang, director of the Xiamen bureau of science and technology, told People's Daily.

Situated nearly 11 yards underground in the university's Xiang'an campus, the lab has more than 60 high-tech achievements under its belt. Products related to it have generated an output value of nearly 3 billion yuan.

The Xiamen Torch Development Zone for High Technology Industries has built an incubator dedicated to graphene research and applications.

"The incubator provides companies with investment funds and services such as equipment sharing and technical guidance to create a quality environment for the 'seeds'," Ni Jie, chief engineer of the zone's administrative committee, told People's Daily.

Xiamen Innovax Biotech is another beneficiary of the government's support. "After carrying out countless experiments, we have finally made something happen," said Li Shicheng, deputy general manager of the company. It launched a recombinant hepatitis E vaccine and a new generation HPV vaccine, People's Daily reported.

Thanks to the policies that encourage innovation, the company's development has entered a fast lane and its annual output value has seen substantial increases, Li said.

The city has brought in or built nine major innovation platforms, which are expected to cultivate more than 100 high-tech enterprises in three to five years, according to the People's Daily report.