"A region's business climate is best examined during hard times, just as fuel delivered when it snows moves more hearts," Zheng told the news conference, using a traditional Chinese proverb.

The Chinese Government Transparency Index Report (2021) recently released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows Anhui ranked third among provincial-level administrative regions, behind Beijing and Shanghai.

With a plethora of scientific institutes, among them the Hefei-based University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui got central authority approval in 2017 to create the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, one of four in the country.

"Training well-rounded talent familiar with science and technology, industrialization, finance, marketing and management is crucial to promoting the integration of sci-tech and industrialization, but we still don't have enough of these people," Wang said.

To that end, the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee and the provincial government plan to create a top-notch science and technology business school at USTC, which will be part of the province's more ambitious plan to create the university's version of Silicon Valley.