A deputy to the National People's Congress has suggested to strengthen support for innovation in small and medium-sized cities to achieve economic upgrading and high-quality development.

Yang Jun, a deputy to the NPC and mayor of Xianning, Hubei province, said small and medium-sized cities continue to face major challenges when it comes to innovation, pointing out that these cities are often dependent on traditional manufacturing and have limited presence in emerging industries. He added that many of them lack innovation capabilities or leading companies with robust research and development capabilities compared to the leading innovative significant cities.

Highlighting the achievements of Xianning city, Yang introduced the Xianning (Wuhan) Offshore Science and Innovation Park, Hubei province's first offshore innovation park.

This park serves as a critical link between Xianning and the outside world. It has attracted 141 enterprises and incubated 54 innovative startups.

These efforts significantly boosted local economic performance, with Xianning's high-tech industries generating 29.22 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) in value-added output in 2024, marking a 16.5 percent increase from the previous year. The number of high-tech enterprises in the city also surpassed 720, more than double the number from 2020, he said.

Yang suggested specific policy support from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance to build such science and innovation parks, which is to push for local innovation through an offshore innovation platform.

This mechanism aims to align the high-tech resources in more developed regions and overseas to boost local innovation development.

Through these policies, more investment, technology and talent will be introduced to smaller cities, he said.

Yang further advocated for local governments to establish special funds to support technology-focused small and medium-sized enterprises. He also emphasized the importance of cooperation between government, industry, finance, and research institutes, especially in hard-core technology.

Yang said these measures will significantly strengthen innovation capabilities in small and medium-sized cities, fostering sustainable economic growth and contributing to the country's overall economic vitality.