Nine new industrial deals signed with Suzhou community

At a signing ceremony on Wednesday, enterprises reached agreements on nine new industrial projects with Huangqiao Community in Suzhou's Xiangcheng District, involving a total investment of more than 4 billion yuan (US$563 million).

The investment projects are mainly in the fields of smart driving and advanced materials. It was the second contract signing ceremony this month after an earlier one involving two projects with a total investment of 1 billion yuan.

The community, in the core area of Xiangcheng high-tech zone, also carried out Sino-Japanese cooperation in advanced materials.

Experts from JWRI & MLPM Cooperation Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute held a brainstorming session during the Wednesday event to offer solutions to 11 local enterprises in the field of advanced materials.

Among the research institutes taking part in the event, JWRI & MLPM Cooperation Center is jointly established by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Key Laboratory of Materials Laser Processing and Modification and School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Joining and Welding Research Institute, Osaka University.

Gu Haidong, Party secretary of Xiangcheng District, said during the ceremony that advanced material is one of the six pillar industries in Xiangcheng, which involved 141 companies by the end of last year.

The companies reported 29.5 billion yuan in sales last year and contributed 750 million yuan in taxes, according to Gu.

Takayoshi Fukuda, deputy consul general of Japan in Shanghai, mentioned the current strategic layout, development ideas and pace of Xiangcheng could reflect the general tone of China-Japan friendly cooperation in the new era.

“For instance, the under-construction Sino-Japan regional development and cooperation demonstration area is a perfect embodiment. We hope that both sides can build a new high ground in mutual cooperation through technological innovation,” Fukuda said.

Meanwhile, Gu pointed out that innovative research and development, plus smart manufacturing, are two major directions of Huangqiao’s future development.

Four leading industries in Huangqiao － electronic information, equipment manufacturing, biomedicine, and industrial design and innovation － will provide a broad space for the development of the advanced materials industry, Gu added.

Wang Beilei, Party secretary of Huangqiao Community Works Committee, unveiled a master plan on Wednesday to create a modern industrial chain in the metropolitan area, and turn it into a base of smart manufacturing in Xiangcheng.