Cargo is ready to be shipped to Europe from Suzhou. [Photo/jschina.com.cn]
Suzhou New District saw 46.8 percent and 58.0 percent increases in industrial investment and foreign trade exports from January to March, more than any other district or county-level city administered by Suzhou.
In addition to these encouraging figures, SND saw 35.22 billion yuan ($5.48 billion) in regional GDP and 5.41 billion yuan in general public budget revenue.
Industrial production has maintained steady progress since the fourth quarter of last year, with above-designated-size manufacturers, meaning those with annual operating revenues of roughly $3.1 million or more, generating a combined industrial output of 77.38 billion yuan during the three months, up 45.8 percent year-on-year.
SND is also attractive to foreign investment, as a total of $490 million in foreign capital was in actual use from January to March, up 139.4 percent year-on-year.
The district's foreign trade has made impressive progress due to China-Europe freight trains and other international logistics patterns. Statistics show that the total value of SND's imports and exports increased 45.4 percent to $10.14 billion, 10.5 percentage points higher than the citywide average.
SND has also been emphasizing key projects, with 35 provincial-level projects receiving a total of 841 million yuan in investment starting construction in the first quarter of this year.
Local residents have also regained confidence in consumption, and SND's total retail sales reached 15.94 billion yuan, up 42.9 percent year-on-year. The district's service industry also grew, while the information and technology industries saw year-on-year growth of 269.4 and 102.5 percent, respectively.
