A view of the Sino-Germany innovation park in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 31, 2019 . Taicang has been making great efforts to improve business environment through facilitating administrative procedures for enterprises including registration, project approval and tax registration in recent years. (Xinhua/Li Bo)
"Suzhou is a vibrant city with a large collection of talents, tech incubators and research institutions, and we hope to rely on its innovation ecosystem to develop innovative digital solutions to serve the broader customer base," said Andreas Hecker, vice president of Leica Microsystems.
NANJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- With a history dating back 2,500 years, the ancient eastern Chinese city of Suzhou now thrives with over 400 projects invested by 156 foreign enterprises on the Global Fortune 500 list.
In 2019, the world's top companies, including Honeywell and Emerson Electric, all established branches in the city.
Leica Microsystems, a leading German optical technology and product manufacturer, opened an innovation center in Suzhou Industrial Park last November. Covering a floor space of 500 square meters, the center will be used for the development of high-quality smart products.
"Suzhou is a vibrant city with a large collection of talents, tech incubators and research institutions, and we hope to rely on its innovation ecosystem to develop innovative digital solutions to serve the broader customer base," said Andreas Hecker, vice president of Leica Microsystems.
"Though higher economic uncertainties now lead to cautious foreign investment for many firms, we are confident about the prospect and huge potential of China's economy," Hecker said.
A view of Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 31, 2019 shows . (Xinhua/Li Bo)
To promote wider opening-up, the city released a new plan Friday that outlined its blueprint for higher-quality growth, with measures in innovative development, industrial upgrading, foreign investment and other aspects.
According to the plan, Suzhou will be home to 14,000 high-tech firms by the end of 2022, with 3,000 foreign-invested ones.
In addition to abundant technological resources, Suzhou is also equipped with a complete and efficient supply chain. Ten advanced manufacturing industrial clusters in the city, including electronic information and high-end equipment, have an output value of over 100 billion yuan (around 14.34 billion U.S. dollars).
"The city's complete industrial chain fully supports the development of foreign companies," said Li Chenchun, deputy general manager of Samsung Electronics Suzhou.
In 1994, the South Korean tech giant was one of the earliest foreign firms to arrive in the city.
"We can find almost all the suppliers we need within 100 km, saving us a lot of time and costs," Li said.
A view of the Master-of-Nets Garden, in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
For many international companies investing in Suzhou, a friendly and supportive government with efficient problem-solving abilities is one of the city's biggest attractions.
According to Lan Shaomin, secretary of Suzhou's municipal committee of the Communist Party of China, the city provides targeted support to foreign investors on a case by case approach.
"The government of Suzhou can address our problems overnight after receiving our requests, which is hard to imagine in many other countries," said Oo Ee-Lin, senior vice president of finance and administration of Bosch Automotive Electronics China.
Due to a fair business environment and a series of preferential policies, more talents have settled down in the city. So far, about 13,000 foreigners are working in Suzhou, with more than 4,500 foreign talents.
File photo shows the night view of an industrial park in Suzhou City, E China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)
The city plans to introduce 10,000 high-end talents within three years for its high-quality development, and more than half of them will be from overseas, with the number of top foreign experts exceeding 2,500.
"Suzhou is embracing globalization with growing openness, which will bring us more business opportunities in China," said Yamaguchi Keizo, vice-chairman of the board president of Factory Engineer Department of Panasonic System Networks (Suzhou). ■
