Taiyuan, capital of North China's Shanxi province, recently issued a plan to boost local leading scientific and technological enterprises to maximize their dominant role in sci-tech innovation.

The city will focus on accelerating the growth of tech enterprises in industrial clusters for equipment manufacturing, information technology, new materials, and green energy.

By 2023, the city aims to be home to more than 30 leading technology companies, over 10 gazelle companies (startups founded in the 2000s that are worth over $500 million and are not yet listed on a public exchange and most likely to go "unicorn" or hit a valuation of $1 billion within three years) and more than three unicorn companies (startups valued at more than $1 billion).

To achieve this goal, Taiyuan will encourage enterprises to increase investment in research and development and produce outstanding scientific and technological achievements. 

Local authorities will offer enterprises support in building technological innovation platforms, carrying out key and core technology research, strengthening high-level talent team building, constructing and expanding major industrial projects, and expanding their own scale.

For companies included on the local leading tech enterprise cultivation list (hereinafter referred to as "aforementioned companies"), subsidies will be given according to 20 percent of their actual R&D expenses in the previous year, up to a maximum of 2 million yuan ($316,286.60).

Newly approved national laboratories and provincial labs of the aforementioned companies will be given 150 million yuan and 20 million yuan in subsidies, respectively. 

The city will give up to 20 million yuan in financial support to each municipal-level key core technology research project of the aforementioned companies that form innovation consortia and implement such projects.

Awards of 5 million yuan and 1.5 million yuan will be given to the aforementioned companies that win the first and second-place prizes of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the State Technological Invention Award and the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award.