During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Huaian focused on enterprise cultivation and platform construction, adopting a development path marked by the leadership of leading enterprises, the follow-up of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the support of platforms. This approach has enabled the city to strengthen innovation entities, optimize platform carriers, and provide solid support for industrial upgrading. 

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Huai'an established one new National Torch Program Specialized Industrial Base, bringing the total to six. It also added one new national-level maker space, raising the total to three. Additionally, the city successfully introduced two national-level key laboratories and three provincial-level key laboratories, with the Huai'an Institute of the Nanjing University of Science and Technology officially operational. Moreover, a "Three Horizontal and Three Vertical" innovation matrix was built to provide enterprises with full-chain services from technology R&D to achievement transformation.  to provide enterprises with full-chain services from technology research and development to achievement transformation. The Huai'an Institute of the Nanjing University of Science and Technology has set up the Intelligent Equipment R&D Center to meet the needs of the local high-end equipment industry, which has solved 15 technical problems for more than 20 enterprises and promoted the industrialization of 3 scientific research achievements.

Through the double-drive strategy combining enterprise cultivation and platform support, Huai'an continues to expand its innovation matrix. The number of high-tech enterprises in the city increased from 556 in 2020 to 940 in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of over 14%; the proportion of high-tech enterprise output value in the total output of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased from 27.4% to 35.3%. Additionally, through the "Thousand Enterprises, Hundred Schools" action, the city has cumulatively introduced 15 universities, research institutions, and technology transfer centers, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Nanjing University, forming 1,461 university-enterprise alliances. The transaction value of technology contracts increased from RMB 4.032 billion in 2020 to RMB 21.511 billion in 2024, providing a solid guarantee for the high-quality industrial development.