Nantong zone powers into new era

Advanced industries and services provide advantage

A successful development zone has made the Jiangsu city of Nantong stand out from its competitors in attracting investment, said local officials.

At the center of the Yangtze River Delta - one of the nation's economic powerhouses - the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone is one of the nation's 14 earliest development zones designed to boost the opening-up of the local economy.

Covering 183.8 square kilometers, it now has a population of 220,000.

Local statistics show that in the first six months of the year, the zone's gross domestic product reached 21.38 billion yuan, a 10.4 percent rise compared with the same period last year, while its import and export volume increased 17.4 percent to reach $2.74 billion.

But unlike the past when most development zones were successful, administrative officials in Nantong know their zone needs its own characteristics to maintain a leading position.

Those include a highlight on advanced industries.

With combined investment of over $15 billion, more than 800 ventures funded by overseas businesses are now operational in the zone.

Among them, more than 70 are high-tech operations invested by Fortune 500 companies.

Renowned companies that have projects in the zone include German medicine producer Merck, precision machine maker Surugash, daily goods supplier Daio from Japan, US new materials producer Chemtura, Sweden's airbag manufacturer Autoliv, Swiss pharmaceutical company Siegfried, as well as bicycle maker Merida from Taiwan and Jiuzhou New Energy from Hong Kong.

With these joint ventures, the Nantong zone is developing high-tech operations in new materials, biomedicine, electronics, precision machinery and others, making it one of the high-tech industry hubs in the Yangtze River Delta region.