China's 'Smart City' being created in Hefei

Firms engaged in micro-electronics, new energy, advanced materials, quantum information, medical treatment and public health are the most welcome tenants, Li said, noting that officials are now hoping to attract high-tech investors from Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and those from further afield such as Silicon Valley in the United States, Japan and South Korea.

"Overseas-funded enterprises have brought us not only advanced technology but also managerial experience," said Li.

"They have driven innovation, research and development activities in the region, and with their involvement, Hefei Hi-tech Zone has optimized its industrial structure and raised its global competitiveness.

"Favorable conditions such as convenient transportation, a beautiful environment, abundant human resources, efficient government and a preferential tax policy are all fully available to investors."

The roll call of well-known multinational tenants and investors include Maytag, Philco, Sanyo, Toyota, Mitsubishi, ABB and Hyundai.

By the end of 2012, of the zone's employees, more than 1,800 were PhDs, 11,190 had master's degrees, nine of China's most famous academicians worked there, and there were 48 foreign experts based in the zone.

In 1997, at the national conference for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation high-tech industrial parks, Hefei Hi-tech Zone was admitted as one of China's five industrial parks open to APEC.

Becoming a part of APEC has meant the zone has opened further to the outside world, allowing it to attract more international businesses, Li said.

As one of China's four science bases, Hefei enjoys strong scientific research activity and is home to some famous research centers and many locally based higher learning institutions such as USTC, Hefei University of Technology and Anhui University.

The zone includes a software park, a university high-tech park, a biomedical park, an automotive park and an incubator, and since 2000 it has also been a National High Tech Export Base.

Gree, one of the country's leading domestic air-conditioner producers, has established a production base in the zone. Midea, another leading home appliance producer, has a refrigerator and washing machine base there.