Yiwu in Zhejiang province saw investment of 3.51 billion yuan ($482.55 million) in scientific and technological research and development in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 26.75 percent, the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics announced on Nov 5.

The strong performance was largely due to the implementation of a raft of measures rolled out by authorities, including launching a campaign to create a scientific and technological innovation system, establishing research institutions, and releasing stimulus policies to encourage social forces to engage in R&D.

Authorities have dispatched a special task force to offer one-on-one services to high-tech enterprises onsite, encouraging eligible enterprises to implement proprietary R&D sites, allocate dedicated R&D personnel, and install specialized R&D equipment.

One provincial leading high-tech enterprise and 286 provincial high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been added this year.

The local government has also issued favorable policies to attract high-tech projects, nurture high-tech companies, and provide rewards.

AIKO Solar Co is one of the outstanding enterprises that take the lead in pursuing innovations, and has undertaken more than 10 national-level and provincial-level scientific research projects.

AIKO currently boasts 896 patents, two of which have been awarded excellent Chinese patent prizes.