On June 27, the SME Digital Transformation Pilot City Exchange Event and the SME Digital “Chain-style” Transformation Initiative kicked off in Guangzhou. During the event, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced the third batch of national SME digital transformation pilot cities, with Lishui securing a spot on the list.

This marks the first national-level regional pilot project in the industrial and information technology sector since Lishui became a prefecture-level city. The city is expected to receive 100 million yuan in central government funding, which will leverage over 1 billion yuan in digital transformation investments across local SMEs.

The event, as a key activity of the 20th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair (CISMEF), was themed “Linking SMEs, Leading the Future with Intelligence”. It featured specialized forums, exhibitions on manufacturing digital transformation, and exchanges on best practices among national SME digital transformation pilot cities. Attendees also explored practical outcomes of “chain-style transformation”, analyzed transformation models, and showcased successful case studies.

Strategically located at the intersection of the Yangtze River Delta and the borders of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi, Lishui is a pivotal area in Zhejiang’s high-quality development and common prosperity demonstration zone. In recent years, Lishui has prioritized SME digital transformation as an internal driver, leveraging fiscal support to boost manufacturing technological upgrades and digital shifts, accelerating industrial advancement toward high-end, intelligent, and green development. These efforts laid a solid foundation for its selection as a national SME digital transformation pilot city.

“In 2024, Lishui added 480 industrial enterprises above designated size to its digital transformation roster, achieving 100% coverage among such firms,” said a spokesperson from the Lishui Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. Moving forward, Lishui will focus on historic heritage industries, stainless steel and specialty materials, and precision component manufacturing, guided by the principle of “digital empowerment and green smart manufacturing”. Lishui City aims to drive full-chain, all-factor, and end-to-end digital transformation, building a modern eco-industrial system characterized by “mountain-region uniqueness, ecological advantages, and digital innovation”. By fostering new quality productive forces, Lishui strives to become a national benchmark for SME digital transformation in mountainous regions, offering a “Lishui Model” for mid-tier cities undergoing industrial digital upgrades, revolutionary base areas pursuing common prosperity, and heritage industries seeking revitalization.