Zhangjiagang, a port city in East China's Jiangsu province hosts a financing conference focusing on manufacturing industry on Oct 10. Nine financing institutions and 11 enterprises reach consensuses in financing cooperation. [Photo/zjgonline.com]

Zhangjiagang, a port city in East China's Jiangsu province, is poised to further accelerate the development of its high-end manufacturing and industrial upgrading by hosing financing activities, local officials said.

The city hosted a financing conference focusing on manufacturing industry on Oct 10. Shen Guofang, Party secretary of Zhangjiagang and Pan Guoqiang, mayor of Zhangjiagang attended the event.

At the conference, nine financing institutions and 11 enterprises have reached consensuses in financing cooperation. Eight banks in Zhangjiagang are pledged to provide an investment of 610 million yuan ($88.4 million).

Accordingly, the city’s total investment in intelligent manufacturing projects will reach 7.5 billion yuan, accounting for about 51 percent of the city's industrial investment, year-on-year growth of nearly 30 percent.

The city’s government will continue to organize more financing activities to deepen cooperation between local banks and companies to bolster industrial upgrading.

Pan also highlighted the importance of intelligent industries and stated that government is making efforts to support local high-tech industries.

The city has released a "Three-Year Action Plan for Intelligent Manufacturing (2018-2020)" in 2018, to provide supports for enterprises in upgrading and developing intelligent robot workshops.

In the past three years, the city has implemented 100 key intelligent manufacturing projects every year. The output value of emerging industries accounted for 4.6 percent of the total.

Through the implementation of intelligent manufacturing, the operating cost is reduced by 20 percent and the production efficiency is increased by 30 percent.

According to the plan, by 2020, Zhangjiagang will strive to cultivate 20 companies featuring integration intelligent manufacturing system service.