Lixia district government signs an agreement with iflytek Co on Sept 11. [Photo/WeChat account: touzilixia]

Chinese AI company iFlytek is set to open its regional headquarters in Lixia district, Jinan city, according to an agreement signed on Sept 11.

Iflytek is recognized as the largest listed company in the intelligent voice industry in the Asia Pacific region. The company will set up its northern headquarters of English listening and speaking and its innovation center in Lixia.

The company will give full play to its advantages in artificial intelligence and promote in-depth cooperation with Lixia in the fields of AI, education and healthcare.

Officials said the cooperation will greatly promote the upgrading and development of the digital economy in the district.

Lixia is recognized as the financial and economic center of Jinan and has attracted a number of headquarter enterprises. The district is currently home to 273 financial institutions above municipal level, and 49 headquarter enterprises above municipal level.

Lixia district has been providing incentive policies to promote the headquarters economy development and stimulate the vitality of innovation-oriented enterprises. In 2020, the district released more than 26 million yuan ($4.02 million) in funds to support headquarter enterprises.

In the future, the district will further improve the service system to attract investment and enterprises, build an innovation and opening-up platform, and accelerate the rapid development of modern service industries.