As part of the Jiangsu session of the "Invest in China Year," the International Cooperation Conference on Industrial Chain and Supply Chain was held in Suzhou City on June 28, concurrently with the Taihu Entrepreneurs Forum.
More than 700 representatives from multinational companies, foreign-funded enterprises and overseas business associations participated in the conference.
During the forum, the province witnessed the signing of agreements for 45 projects, each worth at least $100 million, totaling $11.7 billion in investment. Our of these, 24 projects were signed onsite at the forum, primarily focusing on biomedicine, new energy, intelligent manufacturing and other fields. The investment came from companies in Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries and regions. Notably, all 13 cities in Jiangsu with subordinate districts reported new investment projects agreed upon onsite.
Jiangsu has seen the establishment of 41,000 foreign-funded enterprises and attracted investment from 392 out of the world's Fortune 500 companies. In the province, 1,600 foreign enterprises have committed R&D spending of more than 10 million yuan. Although, foreign-funded enterprises account for about 1.3% of the province's total enterprises, they have contributed to 10% of the annual fixed asset investment in Jiangsu, 10% of urban jobs, and 20% of tax revenue, becoming an important driver of the province’s high-quality development.
At the forum, participants reached a consensus to work together in enhancing the resilience of the supply chain and industry chain.
Wang Lei, executive vice president and president for China of the multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, emphasized that Jiangsu is not only the company's first location in China but also an important base to accelerate the introduction of new drugs, increase local manufacturing and promote innovation.
AstraZeneca has established a complete industrial chain in the coastal province, encompassing R&D, production, export, logistics, innovation, investment and talent training. With significant progress made in decades of development, the company also pledged to support China's R&D of innovative drugs to go global through licensing.
Han Huiqing, deputy general manager of ALBA China, said Jiangsu is one of the earliest investment destinations for the company. She also said ALBA will leverage its more than 50 years of operational experience in Europe and its development in Jiangsu to invest in and operate high-quality projects while contributing to green transformation of industries.
The company said its investment in Jiangsu features international advanced technology to treat and utilize waste of manufacturing industry in a harmless manner. ALBA also plans to promote the recycling and treatment of lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars this year as well as explore cooperation opportunities in the field of plastic recycling.
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