HAIKOU /China/, July 12. /TASS/. Participants of the annual Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA) conference and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit discussed Hainan's potential in developing knowledge-intensive industries and supported the growth of the province's innovation sector. This was reported by the Hainan Daily newspaper.

"I hope that cooperation between educational institutions and enterprises will allow for the interests of industry development to be taken into account and products based on verified developments in artificial intelligence will be presented in the Hainan market," the publication cites Hainan University professor Wang Zhaohui as saying. According to the expert, smart technology will "give more luster" to the development of China's southernmost region.

According to his colleague Sun Haiquan of Zhejiang University's Hainan Institute, the province has "shown continuous growth in innovative technology" over the past two years, and he therefore has full confidence in the successful development of the regional free trade port. "We will use our own advantages to actively cooperate between scientific institutions and the manufacturing sector," the scientist stressed.

Many participants expressed their interest in promoting promising local projects in tourism, modern services, advanced technology and high-efficiency tropical agriculture. "The cultural segment of the Hainan market has great potential and wide prospects," said association member Sun Hongtao, who oversees cooperation with the PRC and the Republic of Korea. "The free trade port is developing more and more quickly, so there are even more favorable opportunities for many of those who have returned to China after studying abroad."

The annual WRSA conference was first held in 2012, bringing together representatives from both academia and business. Thanks to these events, Hainan has launched more than 400 investment projects worth 1.22 billion yuan (about $181 million at current exchange rates).