State Development & Investment Co Ltd, or SDIC, on March 18 inaugurated a smart city innovation research institute in Xiamen – the prefecture-level port city located in East China's Fujian province – in a move expected to provide strong momentum for innovation in the region.

The inaugural meeting of the SDIC Smart City Innovation Research Institute is held in Xiamen on March 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The institute will reportedly aim to serve the national innovation strategy and seize the opportunities, presented by the introduction of new infrastructure and the development of Xiamen as a smart city, to improve the modernization of social governance.

The SDIC Smart City Innovation Research Institute has four development goals, of which the first is to establish itself as a leading technology R&D center and a top talent training center. Additionally, it plans to refine scientific research projects and allocate innovative resources based on major projects.

Thirdly, it aims to develop an ecosystem for the mutual promotion for science and technology, industry and finance and finally, it intends to create new development advantages in the process of building a new technology system.

The institution has set out two major directions for its work in 2021. It will enrich the content of the smart city construction by undertaking relevant research and practice projects. On the other hand, it will expand the boundaries of the smart city, providing new driving forces for innovative development and the cross-field application of artificial intelligence.

Moving forwards, the institute will keep pace with the wider development trends of smart cities. It will also focus on key areas and carry out research on multiple areas, to build a top nationwide brains-trust in the field of smart city construction.