With an improved transportation system, Hai'an is set to develop its logistics industry. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

The county-level city of Hai'an – administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – held a conference in Shanghai on May 12 on how to boost the city's high-quality development.

Hai'an's economic development zones signed six strategic cooperation agreements with industrial parks, high-tech zones and research institutes in Shanghai.

A total of 18 projects were inked at the conference, focusing on sectors such as new materials, high-end equipment manufacturing, food production, storage and logistics. The total investment of domestic-funded projects is expected to reach 16 billion yuan ($2.48 billion), and that of foreign-funded projects is expected to top $450 million.

Yu Lizhong, Party secretary of Hai'an, made a keynote speech in which he stated that Hai'an and Shanghai are in close proximity to each other and enjoy strong cooperation in transportation, industry, scientific innovation, finance, culture and travel.

Hai'an, which is a central city in the Yangtze River Delta integration strategy, is focusing on improving its transportation system and has built a large-scale railway logistics base, three major delivery warehouses and a bonded logistics center. With the opening of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong and Yancheng-Nantong high-speed railways, the city has entered the era of high-speed railway, Yu added.

Hai'an was included in the first group of national innovative counties and cities and was designated as a pilot city to conduct reforms on scientific and technological innovation system in Jiangsu province. A science and technology development conference was held in March, during which officials expressed their commitment to boosting innovation in the city, according to Yu.

Moving forward, Hai'an will further deepen cooperation with Shanghai in a wider range of fields. It will focus on building itself into a base to support Shanghai's high-end industries, a base for high-tech achievements transformation, and a base for high-level talent looking to start businesses.