WND ranks 17th among national high-tech zones

An internet of things industrial park in Wuxi New District. [Photo/WeChat account: xinwu_wx]

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently released the 2024 Comprehensive Evaluation Result of National High-Tech Zones, ranking Wuxi National Hi-Tech District, or Wuxi New District, 17th out of 178 national zones. This represents a rise of one spot over the previous evaluation and the fifth time in a row the zone's ranking has risen.

WND's regional GDP exceeded 250 billion yuan ($34.26 billion) in 2023, reflecting a 6.1-percent year-on-year growth, with per capita GDP remaining the highest among all counties and districts in Jiangsu province. The gross industrial output of enterprises above the designated scale surpassed 650 billion yuan, the highest among districts in the province, with high-tech industries contributing over 480 billion yuan, accounting for 74 percent of the total.

WND maintained a strong pace of technological innovation in 2023, with approximately 12,000 newly authorized patents and an average of 183 valid invention patents per 10,000 people—2.46 times the citywide average. The number of valid high-tech enterprises in the zone surpassed 1,500.

Six major industries, including internet of things, integrated circuits, and biopharmaceuticals, each achieved a scale exceeding 100 billion yuan. WND ranked among the top 18 national biopharmaceutical industrial parks in comprehensive competitiveness.

In 2023, enterprises in the district recorded $334 million in outbound investment, achieving over 20-percent year-on-year growth. Additionally, WND approved 15 new projects with foreign investment exceeding $30 million and attracted over $1.1 billion in actual utilized foreign capital.