Workshop of a high-tech business in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Nantong in Jiangsu province was home to an addition of a record 1,608 high-tech enterprises in 2023, bringing the total number to 3,622, according to the local municipal bureau of science and technology.

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 25.5 percent, the highest rate in the province.

High-tech enterprises are prized as dynamic forces in developing new technologies and driving innovation-based economy. In recent years, the city has actively taken measures to cultivate such establishments.

Workshop of a high-tech business in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Scientific and innovation projects are the lifeblood of such efforts. Over the past two years, Nantong has attracted 2,132 such projects, 188 of which have emerged as high-tech companies.

By the end of 2023, the city's efforts to establish a complete cascading cultivation system were evident, from a foundation of 10,600 pan-tech enterprises, working in tandem with 5,221 small and medium-sized tech companies, and complemented by 2,593 high-tech firms.

The contributions of high-tech businesses to the local economy also stood out throughout 2023. Statistics show that in the first 11 months of last year, the added value of the high-tech industries in Nantong expanded by 3.86 percent year-on-year, accounting for 48.63 percent of the total output of industries above designated size.