On Aug. 22, the director of the Torch High Technology Development Center under the Ministry of Science & Technology announced that the number of high-tech industry development zones in China has reached 146. The zones serve as the foundation of 17 national innovation demonstration zones. These high-tech development zones have been vital engines driving China’s innovation.

The director, Zhang Zhihong, said that 31,160 high-tech enterprises are located in these high-tech industry development zones, accounting for 40.9 percent of all the high-tech enterprises in China. These companies are mainly involved in mobile Internet, the Internet of Things, 3-D printing, wearables and more.

For instance, Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone has a 50 percent market share of optical products; Shanghai Zhangjiang High-tech Development Zone accounts for 35 percent of China’s circuit industry; and almost 30 percent of China’s wind power industry sits in the Tianjin High-tech Development Zone.

Zhang expressed confidence in the future of high-tech industry development zones, predicting that they will act as stabilizers for China’s middle- and high-speed development. In the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the government will give more weight to high-tech industries, and expect such development zones to be incubators of innovative global influence and leadership.