A busy shipyard in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Nantong, Jiangsu province, aims to develop a world-class shipbuilding and marine engineering industrial cluster.

Multiple eye-catching vessels, including the world's largest floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility for natural gas and a 24,188-container ship, have been made in Nantong.

Nantong's flourishing shipbuilding and marine engineering industry is backed by collaborative innovation and strong supporting facilities.

The city has promoted the operation of the Jiangsu Marine Technology Innovation Center and the tackling of core technologies, and taken the initiative in seeking cooperation with key supporting businesses outside Jiangsu.

Nantong has also improved its services in digital and intelligent empowerment, financing, and talent cultivation and attraction.

The city offers local enterprises free consultations on intelligent reform and digital transformation and encourages them to collaborate with industrial software companies such as Dassault Systemes and Huawei.

In terms of financing services, the city has prepared to establish a State-owned foreign trade group to support shipbuilding enterprises with matters related to foreign trade, such as taking orders and issuing letters of guarantee.

Over the past three years, Nantong has led the province in the number of talent programs recognized by State and provincial authorities, and local vocational colleges have set up over 60 industrial schools.

Due to these efforts, the shipbuilding and marine engineering industries in Nantong have seen improved core competitiveness and international influence. The scale of the shipbuilding industry in the city currently accounts for 10 percent of the country's total.