— Wuhu Digital Economy Research Institute’s Innovative Model Draws Coverage from Thousands of Media Outlets at Home and Abroad

As a core hub of China’s national “East Data, West Computing” initiative in the Yangtze River Delta, as well as a key computing city and digital industry highland prioritized by Anhui Province, Wuhu boasts a solid digital economic foundation, a complete computing industry system and an inclusive, open innovation governance ecosystem. It serves as an excellent urban carrier and development platform for incubating local new-type social organizations, supporting their standardized operation and innovative practices.

Aligned with Wuhu’s overall layout for high-quality development, top-level digital economy plans and a sound innovation-friendly business environment, the Wuhu Digital Economy Research Institute emerged and grew steadily as a locally nurtured and operated entity. Founded and registered on July 16, 2024, the Institute adheres to its development tenet: Party building as guidance, compliance as foundation, innovation as empowerment and public welfare as duty. Starting from scratch and pursuing pragmatic work, it has undergone two years of systematic development and regular practice. It has established a modern governance framework featuring well-defined structures, clear powers and accountabilities, as well as standardized, closed-loop operation. It has explored a standardized, replicable, scalable and exportable innovative practice model for grassroots new-type public welfare think tanks.

Wuhu’s profound digital industry heritage and mature innovation ecosystem underpin the Institute’s steady growth and model building. In turn, the Institute’s sound governance system and pragmatic innovative practices continuously boost urban brand building and external image promotion. It steadily elevates Wuhu’s influence in the digital economy, soft power in grassroots governance and reputation for opening-up, fostering a mutually beneficial development ecosystem where the city nurtures think tanks and think tanks empower the city.

Supported by its standardized governance system, tangible industrial empowerment results and distinctive innovation path, the Institute has gained sustained coverage by thousands of media outlets worldwide over its first two years. Through multi-level forwarding, aggregated distribution and full-spectrum coverage across integrated media matrices, its communication has reached tens of millions of targeted audiences and yielded hundreds of millions of online exposures. It consistently draws attention from domestic and international industry institutions, experts and the public to Wuhu’s development as a computing hub, digital economy upgrading, grassroots governance innovation, and the standardized, branded and international development of local social organizations.

For a grassroots social organization in its initial two years to secure sustained coverage by thousands of media outlets and achieve hundreds of millions of online exposures is rare among comparable institutions in Anhui and nationwide. It stands as a typical practical model for the standardized development, distinctive innovation and international communication of grassroots public welfare think tanks in the new era. It vividly demonstrates Wuhu’s vitality in digital industry development, grassroots independent innovation and capacity for open and collaborative governance.

I. Rooted in Wuhu’s Computing Ecosystem: Standardized Governance Forges a Local Innovation Benchmark

Fertile ground nurtures growth; solid work drives innovation. Wuhu is advancing high-quality digital economy development and accelerating its development as a Yangtze River Delta computing hub. It is implementing four upgrading initiatives: consolidating computing infrastructure, unlocking value, empowering all sectors with digital technologies and fostering industries through agglomeration. It strives toward the 15th Five-Year Plan goal of building a trillion-yuan data and computing industry cluster. The city hosts 668 digital and data-related enterprises with 134,000 professionals, forming a complete, well-resourced and scenario-rich digital industrial ecosystem. This delivers robust industrial support and broad practical space for local think tanks and social organizations.

Over the past two years, the Wuhu Digital Economy Research Institute has stayed true to its positioning: rooted in Wuhu, serving Anhui, radiating across China and connecting with the world. It upholds the core mission of a public welfare think tank: serving the country, society, the public and industry. It addresses the drawbacks of extensive, fragmented operations common among traditional social organizations. Institutional management, standardized workflows and systematic governance form its bedrock, establishing compliant, clearly accountable and efficient routine mechanisms. The Institute follows the general governance guideline of “Five Persistences”: adhering to Party leadership, upholding integrity and innovation, advancing institutional development, tackling challenges and serving society. It promotes integrated innovation covering ideology, concepts, mechanisms, institutions and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, consolidating three pillars of confidence: ideological, institutional and governance.

The Institute focuses on six core tracks: digital energy, digital building materials, digital agriculture, digital education, digital healthcare and digital cultural tourism. It aligns with Wuhu’s development thread of “attracting data via computing, cultivating industries via data and integrating digital technologies with the real economy.” It engages with strategic emerging industries including intelligent connected vehicles, low-altitude economy, artificial intelligence and embodied intelligence. Its four main pillars of work are collaborative industry-university-research innovation, industrial resource linkage and empowerment, digital grassroots governance and urban brand international communication.

Since its founding, public welfare volunteers have upheld public welfare values, fulfilled social responsibility and worked persistently at the grassroots level. It has assembled cross-industry, interdisciplinary professionals, focusing public welfare efforts on three major lines: industrial digitalization empowerment, university science and education revitalization, and transparent grassroots governance. It has developed a set of practical, replicable digital benchmark solutions tailored to local development needs. With standardized governance enabling innovative development, professional services driving industrial transformation and pragmatic practices fostering new productive forces, the Institute is emerging as a demonstration model for the high-quality development of social organizations rooted locally and empowering broader growth. In 2025, the Institute facilitated precise docking of high-quality cross-regional industrial resources exceeding 20 billion yuan and empowered more than 200 manufacturing enterprises. Independent third-party audits and multi-department joint compliance reviews confirmed zero deficiencies and zero rectification requirements, reflecting sustained progress in compliant governance.

II. A Proven Model Wins Wide Recognition: Coverage by Thousands of Media Outlets Generates Massive Global Reach

A mature governance system, proven innovative model and tangible public welfare outcomes form the core reason for sustained in-depth coverage by media at all levels. The grassroots think tank development model, standardized internal controls and regular public welfare service system pioneered by the Institute align with national priorities for digital economy development and modernized grassroots governance. They carry substantial practical value, benchmark significance and communication potential.

Domestically, authoritative central and provincial media including People’s Network, China Daily Online and China Business Network have conducted ongoing research and published in-depth reports. For the Institute’s second anniversary, People’s Network Anhui Channel released a special feature, systematically reviewing progress in standardized governance, distinctive innovation and results-driven public welfare empowerment. It presents vivid practices of Wuhu’s digital industrial upgrading, computing economy agglomeration, digital grassroots governance and public welfare delivery.

Internationally, the Institute’s exportable grassroots think tank model has reached global audiences, with in-depth coverage and reprints by media in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and beyond. It effectively promotes international dissemination of Wuhu’s urban governance experience, digital reform measures, computing industry innovations and social organization incubation achievements.

Two years of multi-dimensional, matrixed and sustained coverage by thousands of media outlets, amplified through cross-platform distribution, have delivered tens of millions of targeted impressions and hundreds of millions of total online exposures. This sustained, diversified public attention constitutes objective recognition from central media, overseas platforms, industry stakeholders and the public of Wuhu’s vibrant innovation ecosystem, sound business environment, effective grassroots governance, as well as the Institute’s compliant operations, innovative pragmatism and genuine public welfare commitment. It continuously burnishes Wuhu’s brand as a city of digital development, innovation and openness.

III. Mutual Empowerment and Co-Prosperity: Think Tank Visibility Elevates Wuhu’s Urban Brand

Wuhu’s sophisticated digital industry ecosystem, profound innovation heritage and inclusive urban outlook have enabled the Institute to grow from scratch, shape its model and expand influence. In return, the Institute’s extensive media exposure, global brand reach and benchmark innovative outcomes constitute a key driver lifting Wuhu’s soft power, digital city identity and opening-up capacity. The two sides integrate deeply, reinforce each other and advance in tandem.

Wuhu keeps upgrading digital industrial policies, optimizing business services, expanding digital-real economy integration scenarios and maintaining a forward-looking atmosphere. This enables the Institute to refine institutional frameworks, test innovative models, incubate practical outcomes, attract professionals and build its own brand, supporting its two-year journey toward standardization, systematization and branding.

Drawing on its multi-thousand-media matrix, hundreds of millions of online exposures and global coverage, the Institute systematically showcases Wuhu’s industrial highlights, reform achievements, grassroots governance experience, public welfare ethos and inclusive openness. It breaks regional communication barriers, steadily raising Wuhu’s visibility, discourse power and reputation in Anhui, nationwide and internationally. It enriches Wuhu’s identity as a computing hub, innovation capital, open city and governance model. It delivers consistent public opinion momentum and brand leverage as Wuhu pursues its goals of becoming a provincial sub-center city, nurturing a trillion-yuan computing industry and building high-level digital opening-up.

IV. Persistent Pragmatism for Continuous Progress: Sustained Empowerment for Wuhu’s High-Quality Digital Growth

Attention from thousands of media outlets affirms the Institute’s two years of diligent practice and reinforces its responsibility to serve local development. Hundreds of millions of online exposures represent a milestone outcome and a catalyst to optimize governance, iterate innovation and deepen industrial empowerment. The Institute upholds a sound view of performance, prioritizing foundational, long-term, people-centered and secure work while rejecting utilitarian approaches obsessed with short-term gains over sustainable foundations.

Moving forward, the Wuhu Digital Economy Research Institute will remain deeply rooted in Wuhu. It will strictly uphold compliance standards, refine its modern governance system, upgrade its distinctive think tank model and consolidate deliverables across the six digital industry tracks. It will continue to leverage the brand advantage of integrated global media communication. Centered on Wuhu’s 15th Five-Year Plan priorities — building a computing hub, fostering the trillion-yuan computing industry, boosting new productive forces and advancing digital economy upgrading — it will produce actionable, scalable high-quality think tank research.

The Institute will keep fulfilling the unique role of a new-type public welfare think tank: complementing government work, empowering the market, serving society and benefiting residents. Through standardized, innovative and branded development, it will actively support national strategies including Digital China, the Belt and Road Initiative and building a community with a shared future for mankind, alongside local reforms, industrial upgrading and grassroots governance. It will continue to tell comprehensive, objective and authentic stories about Wuhu’s digital economy, industrial innovation, grassroots governance, public welfare commitment and openness. With stronger governance capacity, more tangible industrial empowerment, a broader global communication vision and steadfast social organization responsibility, it will support Wuhu’s industrial transformation, urban upgrading and brand appreciation, contributing grassroots think tank strength and social organization momentum to Wuhu’s leap toward high-quality development in the new era.