Recent launch activities offer proof of a strong start to 2023

Since the beginning of this year, Nantong in Jiangsu province has embodied the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and continued to boost high-quality development in an all-around way. Measures taken to embody the spirit include optimizing the business environment, promoting project construction and cultivating scientific and technological talents.

The city recently held an array of launch activities to mark the construction of major industrial projects. Rudong has initiated 30 key projects with a total investment of more than 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) and Qidong plans to start 36 major industrial projects in the first quarter with a total investment of 31.8 billion yuan.

"In the past year, Nantong has started the construction of major projects including the Haimen-Taicang Yangtze River Tunnel, the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei High-Speed Railway and the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway.

The container terminal of Lyusi Port at Tongzhou Bay is open for operation," said Wang Hui, vice-governor of Jiangsu and Party secretary of Nantong, adding that the city is in a breakthrough period for development.

This year, Nantong hopes to attract more than 400 domestic projects and more than 100 foreign-funded projects with a total investment of more than $30 million.

The annual added value of the manufacturing industry in Nantong is expected to account for more than 39 percent of the city's GDP and the number of industrial enterprises above designated size will exceed 8,000.

The city is focusing on the integration of production and innovation and will draw more than 3,300 technological innovation projects and more than 4,300 high-tech enterprises by 2025.

This year, Nantong has upgraded and released the New 66 Articles to create the "most convenient" city in the province. Shen Lei, deputy Party secretary of Nantong and director of the city's information office, said Nantong has focused on the entire industrial chain of development, the full-cycle of enterprises and growth of talents with great responsibilities.

Regional growth

In 2022, the total economic volume of seven counties and districts in Nantong exceeded 130 billion yuan.

Nantong Mayor Wu Xinming said that the districts in Nantong should broaden their horizons and look for benchmarks across the country.

Haimen district has established investment promotion teams in eight key areas and four major industrial chains, while Qidong takes advantage of its deep-water port and proximity to Shanghai to attract high-end manufacturing projects.

Tongzhou district is concentrating on building landmark industries such as automobiles and parts, new-generation information technology and smart equipment as Hai'an has cooperated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In 2022, the industrial taxable sales revenue of Hai'an reached 216.77 billion yuan, ranking first in Nantong.

Rugao ranks top in the city in the number of national "little giant "enterprises, leading small and medium-sized enterprises that specialize in niche sectors.

Rugao is also building a science and technology innovation corridor around the 27.8-kilometer Longyou River.

It ranked first in Nantong for total profit above designated industrial scale last year and is working hard on the dual carbon track to build a national green energy demonstration zone.

Chongchuan leads the city in terms of total economic output and is making use of its advantages in talent, capital, and technology-intensiveness to build the first district for scientific and technological innovation.

Feng Chunqing, member of the standing committee of the Nantong Party committee and head of the committee's organizational department, said: "Local cadres should encourage enterprises and the public to innovate."

Innovative empowerment

On Feb 16, a container ship with 24,188 twenty-foot equivalent units called OOCL SPAIN was launched in Nantong by COSCO Ship Engineering, which is currently one of the largest container ships with world-leading technology.

ZTT, a key national high-tech enterprise in Nantong, ranked first on the list of manufacturing enterprises with tax contributions exceeding 100 million yuan.

The predecessor of ZTT was a township brick and tile factory. After 30 years of development, it has grown into a key enterprise with six leading products nationwide. Zenith Steel Group's revenue hit 21 billion yuan and its tax contribution reached 1 billion yuan. It is speeding up the first-phase and second-phase projects. After reaching production capacity, its annual revenue is expected to increase by about 50 billion yuan.

In 2010, Ju Jianhong led a team to establish DIOO Microcircuits in Nantong. In 2022, the company was listed and became the first company in Nantong to be listed on the science and technology innovation board.

"The city's respect and care for entrepreneurs is the strong backbone for the innovation and development of enterprises," Ju said.

Lu Weidong, member of the standing committee of the Nantong Party committee and vice-mayor of the city, said Nantong will study and compile the Regulations on the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Innovation, solidify various practices in the form of local regulations and make innovation a value-oriented concept and a way of life.

The Nantong-based Wison recently won a large order of more than 10 billion yuan to be the country's first general contractor of a large-scale Floating Liquefied Natural Gas project.

The RIP bushing production line of Sieyuan Electric, a manufacturer specialized in research and development of electric power technology, equipment manufacturing and engineering services, started operation, and Global Technology's new generation of ESC project developed independently began mass production.