The facilities of Jiangsu Weihua Offshore Heavy Industry in Qidong, Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Qidong's commitment to fostering innovation, attracting investments, and boosting industrial development demonstrates its strong momentum for economic growth in 2025.

"We are working 24/7 to fulfill orders," said Yang Shaoyong, president of Jiangsu Weihua Offshore Heavy Industry. The company's facility construction has been fully completed as a provincial key project. Since starting production last year, the company has secured domestic orders while expanding into international markets. This year, orders for various port machinery products have come from countries such as Singapore, Russia, and Chile. 

At the start of the year, the Qidong Economic Development Zone announced ambitious goals for 2025, including 30 new projects, 10 exceeding 500 million yuan ($68.6 million) in investment. It also aims to generate at least 150 new project leads annually. 

Since January, the Qidong Offshore Engineering Industrial Park has conducted nine targeted investment promotion activities in Shanghai, collecting three effective project leads and advancing negotiations on 17 key projects. The park is focused on attracting state-owned enterprises and high-end offshore engineering research and manufacturing companies. Targeting niche sectors, it aims to secure projects with strong integration and supporting capabilities.

Meanwhile, Qidong's towns are also stepping up their efforts. Two 100-million-yuan projects in Huilong town are leveraging favorable weather conditions to accelerate pile foundation work, aiming to complete it before the Chinese New Year holiday.