(Photo provided to Xinhua Daily)

Airbus China R&D Centre was launched in Suzhou Industrial Park on April 14.

Taking advantage of the strengths of the aviation and hydrogen energy industries in the Yangtze River Delta, the new centre will focus on providing electrification and R&D services for new technology innovations.

The two sides signed a framework agreement in June last year amid Airbus expansion efforts in China. According to the agreement, the centre will actively incubate innovation-driven enterprises in the aerospace industry, and accelerate the gathering of high-end talents in the sector.

Suzhou is in full swing to build industrial innovation clusters in the digital economy, with the aerospace industry being identified as an important part. The city already hosts some leading outsourcing companies and first-class research institutions in the aerospace industry.

In February this year, Suzhou released a three-year action plan for building aerospace industry innovation cluster, aiming to integrate into the industry chain and supply chain at home and abroad, creating a vibrant R&D and manufacturing hub, and striving to reach an industry scale of 100 billion yuan by 2025.