A continuous stream of innovation-oriented “seeded players” in Qingdao’s emerging industries and industries of the future are emerging thanks to the well-tiered cultivation system across all industrial chains. Qingdao now boasts 5,661 innovation-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and 3,118 specialized, refined, differential and innovative SMEs, and has cultivated a total of 1,193 fledgling enterprises, 527 gazelle enterprises, 19 unicorn enterprises, 256 national level “little giant” enterprises that are specialized, refined, differential and innovative. Such a huge group of innovation-oriented players will foster synergy for greater achievements.

Qingdao has taken steps to develop a more favorable ecosystem for SMEs. To create a better environment, Qingdao has continued to move forward with the reform of communicating policies faster and more directly, added new functions to the e-platform Qingdao Policy Service, and helped its 12 directly affiliated departments to launch 57 projects to benefit enterprises. To help high-quality enterprises to gain strength, Qingdao has taken targeted steps to guide enterprises towards the goal of becoming specialized, refined, differential and innovative, unveiled dedicated policies to reward and subsidize unicorn enterprises, and fulfilled the task of piloting digital transformation of 614 enterprises.

As the well-tiered cultivation system across all industrial chains continues to improve, a number of “small-sized” but high-quality enterprises are gaining enormous momentum, and innovation-based industries in Qingdao are taking shape. This will inject in a continuous way new impetus into the city’s goal of achieving high-quality economic development. (Liu Cheng)