Offshore wind farm in Nantong. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

More than 30 key figures from the European marine industry, led by Carlo D'Andrea, vice-president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, visited Nantong, Jiangsu province on Aug 21.

Their visit was aimed at discussing opportunities in the blue economy with representatives from relevant government departments and leading marine enterprises in the city.

Nantong, one of China's earliest open coastal cities, hosts the country's largest liquefied natural gas energy island, with an annual capacity of 8 million metric tons. The city has established two government-guided funds: an industrial investment parent fund and an innovation development fund. Partnering with major investment institutions like CITIC, these funds create a network of over 100 funds, totaling more than 100 billion yuan ($13.95 billion), which drives ongoing financial growth for the marine industry.

Nantong has long maintained strong cooperation with European companies. To date, the city has drawn over $50 billion in foreign investment and houses more than 3,800 foreign enterprises, including 112 projects from Fortune 500 companies. Among these, 704 are European companies, with a total foreign investment of $2.13 billion. Furthermore, Nantong has set up three international cooperation parks with Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.

During the interactive session, EU company representatives met with officials from various departments, counties, districts, and major marine enterprises in Nantong to explore potential cooperation across different sectors of the marine industry and to identify new opportunities for ongoing collaboration.