Shinan district in Qingdao had 5,112 newly registered market entities during the January-to-May period, up 3.27 percent, making Shinan the only district that recorded an increase among the city's 10 districts.

Since the beginning of this year, Shinan has been working to solidify its "whole-process" government services for enterprises, so as to make it easier for businesses to establish themselves and develop in the area.

"All the registration procedures have been moved online, which greatly saves our time and costs," said a Yiqicheng (Qingdao) Smart Technology Co executive.

In addition, Shinan has drawn up a plan for cultivating a group of companies with great development potential in its six pillar industries of finance, the digital economy, high-end commerce, fashion and consumption, shipping and logistics, and culture and tourism, aiming to boost the real economy.

Shinan district is currently home to six national and provincial-level scientific research institutes, 175 sci-tech innovation platforms and 233 high-tech companies. It ranked 74th among China's top 100 innovation districts in 2022.