The State Council on April 11 issued a circular approving Shandong Peninsula hi-tech industrial development zones to build the national independent innovation demonstration zone.

According to the circular, the Shandong Peninsula hi-tech zones include the hi-tech industrial development zones in Jinan, Qingdao, Zibo, Weifang, Yantai and Weihai cities of east China’s Shandong province.

The State Council demanded to carry out an overall innovation-driven development strategy, make full use of the innovation resources in the Shandong Peninsula and give priorities to the innovative policies in efforts to improve the innovation system in the region and build a marine science and technology innovation center with a global influence.

The circular stated that the Shandong Peninsula hi-tech zones can enjoy favorable policies relating to the national independent innovation demonstration zone. Meanwhile, they can also carry out science and technology reforms and perform mechanism innovation by combining their own characteristics and needs, and make explorations and demonstrations in the fields, such as, equity incentive, marine science and technology innovation platform construction, new research institutions development, research project and fund management, and innovative entrepreneurship and service system construction.

The inner-ministerial coordination group of national independent innovative demonstration region will be in charge of the related work concerning Shandong Peninsula innovation demonstration zone, implement related policies and measures and solve problems in its development.

The Shandong provincial government is also required to establish coordinated mechanism and set up innovation cooperation platforms to promote the construction of Shandong Peninsula national independent innovation demonstration zone.