Rugao in Nantong, Jiangsu province is nurturing innovative enterprises to enhance market vitality.

Building on its existing four national-level and one provincial-level technology company incubators, Rugao has expanded its horizons to Shanghai, establishing four "enclave incubators". With a total of 83 projects being incubated, this unique model facilitates seamless transition from research and development in Shanghai to manufacturing in Rugao.

Zhu Xiaoli, a professor at Shanghai's Tongji University, is optimistic about the model. He decided to set up a production base in Rugao for his globally pioneering pathology testing products. This "enclave incubation" approach has provided researchers with an opportunity to transform their innovations into business products, said Zhu, adding that his project has raised funds worth 60 million yuan ($8.38 million).

XecaTurbo Clean Power (Rugao) Co Ltd is a company built in Rugao from scratch. The growth of the turbine manufacturer is partly attributed to the support of local government, said Zhang Xuefeng, chairman of the company. As a result, XecaTurbo Clean Power has developed into a "hidden champion" in the industry.

In order to further enhance the innovation capacity of its companies, Rugao has been working to woo talent. Chen Minghua, vice-mayor of Rugao, explained the city's favorable talent attraction policy: "Companies that recruit foreign experts will receive a subsidy equivalent to half of the experts' annual salary, capped at 300,000 yuan for each expert."

Due to the city's continuous efforts to boost innovation, Rugao witnessed a net increase of 172 high-tech enterprises in 2023, bringing the total number to 631. The year also marked the addition of 231 industry-academia cooperation projects, each with an investment of over 50,000 yuan.