Qingdao will invest 25 billion yuan on science research and development in the next five years, according to the city’s planning for the science and technology development over the next five years. The planned investment is expected to account for 2.5 percent of the city’s GDP. The city plans to apply for 20,000 patents in the each year of the future five years, striving to have more than 10,000 applications granted. The output of the city’s hi-tech industry is expected to surpass one trillion by 2015, doubling the amount at the end of 2010, according to the plan. Deputy head of the city’s science and technology bureau, Gan Jian, said that, more than 1,000 experts were involved in drafting the plan, who proposed to accelerate the city’s construction of innovation systems, build high-end industrial systems, push ocean technology innovation, speed up digital network construction, improve energy saving and environment protection, and develop new agricultural technologies. The city will actively introduce high-end innovation platforms like independent national research and development institutions, national engineering technology research centers and key national laboratories. The innovative strategic alliances are expected to be established in 50 industries like basic software, intelligent transportation and high-speed trains. In addition, the city will give support to the development of 300 innovative enterprises, cultivating 50 professional technological teams and introducing 200 high-caliber professionals with PhDs. The development of the city’s hi-tech park is expected to gain much more momentum in the next five years, which eyes an output of 100 billion yuan in 2015. In the next five years, eight strategic emerging industries like Internet terminal equipment and biological materials will be developed in the city, which are expected to achieve a combined output of 30 billion yuan by the end of 2015. Besides, 12 industrialization bases for hi-tech projects will see accelerating construction in the next five years. (Li Hao, Zhao Di) | 