As of now, Hubei Province has boasted a total of 397 new research and development  institutions, ranking second in China, local authorities said on August 25.

Five types of new R&D institutions in Hubei have been developed, namely, industrial technology innovation consortium, comprehensive technology innovation platform, industrial technology research institute, professional research institute (company) and enterprise-school joint innovation center.

Of the total, there are 63 new R&D institutions in Wuhan, accounting for 15.91 percent of the total. Cities of Yichang and Huanggang have 52 and 47, respectively.

These R&D institutions mainly involve key industrial fields such as integrated circuits, new-generation information technology, intelligent manufacturing, automobiles, biology, new energy and new material industries, as well as modern agriculture.

The province has 699 patent applications and 565 valid invention patents from new R&D institutions. The industrial technology research institute has incubated 265 companies, including 80 high-tech companies.（en.hubei.gov.cn by Zhang Yawei）