A lab in Ningbo, East China, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

A total of 127 companies from Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province recently made the list of the third batch of "little giants" released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

A total of 2,930 enterprises from across the nation made the list.

To date, Ningbo is home to 182 "little giants" in total, making up 3.82 percent of the national total.

"Little giants" refer to industry leaders recognized by the MIIT with excellent innovation capabilities, large market shares, core technologies and high product quality and profitability.

In 2018, the MIIT launched the campaign to cultivate "little giants".

China will strive to cultivate 10,000 "little giants" before 2025, according to the MIIT. 

The ministry also recently released a notice requiring more efforts to bolster the high-quality development of small and medium sized companies in fields like integrated circuits, 5G, biomedicine, high-end medical equipment and  new energy vehicles.

A head official from the Ningbo municipal bureau of economy and information technology said that the private economy has a solid foundation in Ningbo, adding that local small and medium-sized enterprises should try to transform into "little giants" to bolster the upgrading of the local manufacturing sector.

Local authorities have set the goal of increasing the number of "little giants" in the city to 1,000 by the end of 2025.