BEIJING, Feb. 13 -- China's State Council has approved the upgrade of the Xiong'an high-tech industrial development zone into a national-level high-tech industrial development zone, according to a statement released Friday.

As part of the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province, the upgraded zone should promote deeper integration of sci-tech innovation with industrial innovation, and attract high-end innovation resources from home and abroad, the statement said.

It called on the zone to actively carry out research and development cooperation on major sci-tech projects, accelerate breakthroughs in key core technologies in priority areas, and speed up the efficient transformation and application of sci-tech achievements.

The statement also urged efforts to strengthen leading industries, make forward-looking plans for emerging sectors, deepen institutional reform, and advance high-level opening up.

In April 2017, China decided to establish the Xiong'an New Area as part of a strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.