Innovation has emerged as an important engine fueling economic growth in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province in recent years.

Nearly 4,000 companies above the designated size in the city have invested in R&D in the last three years, more than any other sub-provincial level city in the nation.

In 2019, Ningbo's R&D spending surged by 17.3 percent over 2018, with its proportion of the city's total GDP increasing by 0.13 percent, official data show.

A total of 21 research organs including the Ningbo Innovation Research Institute of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Ningbo Research Institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University, and Ningbo Marine Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Peking University have been introduced to the city in the past three years.

Currently, Ningbo is home to 69 key industrial technology research institutes, among which 6 have been listed among provincial-level R&D institutions, accounting for one sixth of the total number in the province.

Local enterprises are being incentivized to ramp up innovation. A total of 3,461 small-and medium-sized technology enterprises have been set up in Ningbo to date this year, bringing the number in the city to 18,600.

By the end of this year, the number of high-tech enterprises in Ningbo is expected to top 3,000.

So far, the city is home to 69 high-tech A-shared companies, accounting for three-quarters of all listed companies in the city.

In addition, the local government has also launched a campaign to step up global talent recruitment, aiming to make breakthroughs in several key technologies.