Suzhou New District in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat account: snd-szgxqfb]
Suzhou New District (SND) has been focusing on the high-quality development of six key industrial chains in recent years, aiming to become a leader in high-end domestic industrial clusters, local media outlets reported.
The district drew up a comprehensive plan that by 2022, each of its six key industrial chains, namely semiconductors and integrated circuits, high-end medical devices, software and information services, smart manufacturing equipment, new energy, and digital economy, will generate 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) in annual output and 190 billion yuan in gross revenue.
To achieve this goal, SND said that it hopes to attract investment from the global top 500 and other leading industrial companies, which will in turn attract other forms of investment.
SND also hopes to infuse technological innovation, including bringing in famous universities and research institutes, into the mid- and up-streams of its industrial chains. The medical device industrial chain has led the way in this regard by working with such units and establishing 10 innovative platforms.
SND's strong industrial chains have also inspired confidence among foreign investors, as statistics show that in January 2021, the district attracted 14 new foreign projects receiving a total of $427 million in investment, a 73.23 percent year-on-year increase. The amount of foreign capital in actual use also doubled to $300 million during that same period.
SND has seen strong progress after developing its industrial clusters for over 30 years. For example, the industrial value of new-generation information technology in the district has reached 100 billion yuan, while the growth rate of the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries is over 30 percent. In addition, a number of key national research institutes and companies engaged in the semiconductor and integrated circuit industries have settled in SND.
