A month-long technology innovation event, which will last until June, was launched on May 20 in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

A total of 10 activities will be held, including a themed exhibition showcasing Guilin's innovation-driven development, government working meetings and news conferences.

A news conference on promoting an open competition mechanism to select the best candidates for key research projects will be held as a major part of this year's event, which will focus on the core technologies in Guilin's key industries. These include biomedicines, information technology and modern agriculture.

It is expected that the mechanism will make full use of technological resources from both inside and outside Guilin, to tackle key tech problems and commercialize research outcomes.

To date, Guilin has clustered 278 innovative platforms at the national or autonomous regional level and has carried out more than 5,000 technological projects, with an overall financial investment of 2.8 billion yuan ($435.2 million).

Cao Kunhua, director of the Science and Technology Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, spoke highly of Guilin's achievements in scientific development, as the city ranks among the top three in the autonomous region in terms of the number of its high-tech companies. 

Cao added that his department would continue to offer more support for Guilin's scientific innovation work and look for a new method featuring high-quality development for turning Guilin into a demonstration zone for national sustainable development.