Wuxi ranked third overall in Jiangsu province for 11 technological innovation indicators according to an announcement on the progress of technological innovation in the province for 2017.
The announcement, which outlined 16 indicators in total, was jointly released by the Science and Technology Department of and the Bureau of Statistics of Jiangsu province.
According to the announcement, Wuxi's contribution of scientific and technological progress to economic growth amounts to 63.8 percent, 1.8 percentage points more than the provincial average, topping the provincial list for the second consecutive year. Its R&D expenditure accounts for 2.88 percent of GDP, 0.4 percentage points higher than 2016, maintaining second place in Jiangsu province.
Wuxi also ranks second in the development of R&D institutions of companies and technological innovation platforms. Seven other technological innovation indicators of the city such as the number of high-tech companies place Wuxi third in the province.
The Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology noted that, by adhering to the core strategy of innovation-driven development and comprehensive structural reform in the areas of science and technology, Wuxi's economic and social development has grown markedly.
Last year, Wuxi adopted 30 policies to benefit science and technology companies in the city and the technology tax relief policy alone benefited 3,219 Wuxi-based companies, with a reduction of 5.434 billion yuan ($ 849 million), an increase of 20.9 percent (in numbers of companies) and 21.6 percent (in tax relief) year-on-year respectively.
This year, Wuxi officials say they will focus on developing R&D institutions for major industries such as the new generation of information technology industry, advanced equipment manufacturing industry and biomedicine industry.
The Wuxi government will also encourage companies in fields such as artificial intelligence and aviation to pursue innovation.
