1. Advantageous location
The Suzhou New District (SND), located in the Yangtze River Delta close to Taihu Lake, the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, offers convenient water transport.
It is close to Shanghai, and boasts a superb geographic location. Shanghai-Nanking Railway, Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity High-speed Railway, Shanghai-Nanjing Highway, State Road 312, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and City Highway all go through the SND. The district also neighbors the international airports of Hongqiao (90 kilometers), Pudong (130 kilometers), and Shuofang of Southern Jiangsu (20 kilometers), making air travel highly convenient.
It also borders rivers and is near to the sea. The four ports of Shanghaigang (100 km), Zhangjiagang (90 km), Changshu (60 km) and Taicang (70 km) are available, rendering it a significant pivot on the “Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century”.
Starting from the Suzhou New District various international through block trains, such as the “Suzhou-Manzhouli-Europe” train, are significant players in the international transport corridor of the “Silk Road Economic Belt”.
2. Complete industrial chain
The SND has formed a complete industrial chain. It has developed five emerging industrial clusters dominated by high technology, including electronic information, precision machinery (equipment manufacturing), biomedicine (medical devices), new energy and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
Traditional industrial clusters, such as electronic information and equipment manufacturing, gather in Suzhou New District. Emerging industries, such as industries of bio-medicine and BPO, are developing rapidly.
The SND is currently pursuing new strategies to complete a new industrial system, transitioning the industrial chain into an ecological chain.
3. Strong policy support
The SND offers favorable policies to spur the development of strategic emerging and modern service industries, improve traditional pillar industries, advance scientific innovation and transformation, attract high-end talents and facilitate business financing.
The district was established by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on November, 1992. It was one of the first industrial parks opened to attract foreign investors from APEC countries. In addition to its minimum charges, as a national hi-tech development zone it implements and enjoys national preferential policies such as tax benefits, import and export business facilities, capital credit prioritization of fixed assets investment, simplified foreign business procedures, and exit avenues for technicians.
Foreign investment enterprises in the SND are taxed at a rate of 15 percent. If the company has more than 10 years of operations, it is exempt from two years’ business income tax and half of the business income tax in the third to fifth years. After the abatement years, advanced technological companies can extend their abatement time, and be taxed at a rate of 10 percent. It the value of the export products of an enterprise is over 70 percent of the output value of the enterprise, it will also be taxed at a rate of 10 percent. If a foreign investment enterprise engaging in energy, transportation and municipal infrastructure projects has more than 10 years of operations, it is exempt from five years’ business income tax and half of the business income tax in the sixth to tenth year.
The foreign-invested enterprises in the Suzhou New District are exempted from property tax within five years from the date of building or purchasing the house, as well as all the fees charged by tax authorities except the people’s education fund and education expenses. In addition, the fixed assets investment orientation regulation tax can be postponed.
The Suzhou New District has a series of support systems for the development of enterprises. For small sized companies, the SND will offer favorable policies such as rent relief, tax rebates and incubation funds. For large and medium sized companies, the SND will provide an evaluation of the international high-tech enterprises and support funds for application of a scientific and technological system. The provincial and municipal leading talents will be funded to a certain percentage. SND will also give preferential policies to the medical equipment industry, the new energy industry and Business Process Outsourcing.
