Linyi convenes conference on "AI +" and sci-tech innovation to boost high-quality development

Linyi convened a conference themed "AI +" and Sci-Tech Innovation Driven High-Quality Development on Jan. 8, 2026.

LINYI, Jan 8 - A conference themed "AI +" and sci-tech innovation driven high-quality development was convened in Linyi City, east China's Shandong Province on Tuesday. Held at the outset of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), this "first conference of the new year" in Linyi sent a strong signal of its ambition to join China's "trillion-yuan city club" over the next five years, with innovation set to play a central role in its push to become a regional sub-center of the province.

Zhang Baoliang, Secretary of the Linyi Municipal Party Committee, delivered a speech, while Yu Shengtao, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Linyi, presided over the meeting. 

In his speech, Zhang noted that Linyi has consistently prioritized scientific and technological innovation in recent years, with strengthened foundations, improved platforms, enhanced capabilities, and faster transformation of outcomes. "Innovation entities have expanded, platform capacities have risen, and our capability to achieve scientific breakthroughs has grown," he said.

Noting that 2026 marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Zhang urged the city to deepen the study and implementation of important policies on sci-tech innovation and AI. He called for closer integration between technological and industrial innovation, the establishment of an organized scientific research system, and breakthroughs via the "AI plus" initiative.

"We must drive technological innovation, foster new entities, renew industries, and upgrade growth drivers to build a higher-level national innovative city and create a national demonstration zone for the transfer and commercialization of scientific achievements," he stated.

An Industrial Technology Research Institute was inaugurated in Linyi City, east China's Shandong Province, on Jan. 8, 2026, with the "1+13+X" industrial technology research institute system as the key carrier.

Zhang stressed the need to promote the integration of industry and innovation. Taking the "1+13+X" industrial technology research institute system as the key carrier, the city will clarify the requirements for "how to build, who will build, what to do, how to evaluate, and the responsibilities of all parties" to construct an organized scientific research system.

He highlighted the importance of strengthening innovation hubs, including building the Yimeng Sci-Tech Innovation City, enhancing the dynamic zone for industry-science integration, fostering iconic universities, parks, platforms and enterprises, and gathering various sci-tech innovation resources. Regarding investment, Zhang called for diversified input mechanisms, including steady growth in financial investment, strong breakthroughs in sci-tech finance, and increased investment from enterprises to provide solid financial support for sci-tech innovation.

To smooth the channels for achievement transformation, Zhang urged efforts to vigorously implement the "Hundred Universities and Thousand Enterprises" program and the "list-based recruitment for key sci-tech tasks" mechanism, make full use of the Linyi Science and Technology Market, cultivate more professional technology transfer institutions and technical managers, and promote the application of scientific and technological achievements. He also emphasized the need for targeted talent introduction, focusing on key regions, key engineering disciplines and transformation evaluation to strengthen the support for industry-innovation integration.

Seizing the development opportunity of artificial intelligence, Zhang required expanding computing power infrastructure, focusing on model and data development, accelerating scenario application development, promoting the industrialization of AI, and making greater efforts to break through in the "AI +" field. In addition, he stressed strengthening leadership, advancing reform to address bottlenecks, enhancing supervision and evaluation, and establishing a clear orientation of prioritizing sci-tech development.

Yu Shengtao emphasized the importance of recognizing the general trend, identifying the entry points and breakthroughs, formulating in-depth ideas and measures for "AI +", and accelerating ideological emancipation and action breakthroughs. He urged focusing on key links, adhering to the model of "industry raising questions and science and technology providing answers", strengthening the dominant position of enterprises in sci-tech innovation, highlighting the efficient transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and accelerating the in-depth integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation. Yu also called for taking proactive actions, improving capabilities to implement policies, daring to explore and innovate in implementation, and promoting closed-loop implementation to ensure tangible results.

At the conference, Xiao Xue, Chief Engineer of Inspur Group and Chairman of Inspur Cloud Information Technology Co., Ltd., delivered a special counseling report. The meeting commended outstanding sci-tech innovation enterprises and excellent scientific and technological achievements, awarded certificates to representatives of newly approved high-level talents at or above the provincial level, and unveiled 9 industrial technology research institutes. Representatives from relevant counties, districts, departments, universities and enterprises also delivered speeches at the conference.

Editor：Lotus