Business officials from Egypt and Nigeria learn about a livestream base for bonded cross-border goods in Hangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: hangzhouweekly]

Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, has released an action plan to boost technological innovation, committing to a substantial investment of 400 billion yuan ($56 billion) in technological innovation by 2030.

According to the plan recently released by the Hangzhou municipal government for optimizing the innovation ecosystem and increasing investment in technological innovation, the city aims to increase the proportion of R&D spending to 4.5 percent and inject new momentum into the development of new quality productive forces. The plan is set to take effect on Nov 29.

Hangzhou ranks 13th on the list of the world's top 100 innovation clusters of the Global Innovation Index for 2025, climbing one spot from last year and achieving its highest historical ranking.

The plan further strengthens the role of enterprises as the main drivers of innovation. A direct investment fund exceeding 10 billion yuan is being established to facilitate the commercialization of technological research achievements. The city will accelerate the development of future industries such as general artificial intelligence, the low-altitude economy, humanoid robots, brain-like intelligence, and synthetic biology, positioning itself as a leader in frontier technology.

According to an official from the Hangzhou municipal bureau of science and technology, the city is pioneering a "Hangzhou solution" to address challenges such as the disconnection between technological and industrial innovation and insufficient corporate innovation drive, laying a solid foundation for Hangzhou to become a globally influential innovation hub.

A bird's-eye view of a CBD near the Jinshan Lake in Qiantang district, Hangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: hangzhouweekly]