This Day, That Year: Aug 22

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Aug 22, 1992, the Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone was approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, as a State-level economic development zone.

Lying in the southeastern region of Jiangsu province, Kunshan covers 931 square kilometers. It is 55 km from Shanghai to the east, and 35 km from Suzhou to the west.

Its development dates back to 1984, when the Kunshan county government issued a plan to establish a 3.75-sq-km industrial and commercial zone in Yushan town.

In 1996, it established a service center for foreign enterprises to provide one-stop services in customs, environmental protection and taxation, as seen in the item from China Daily.

Now, it has attracted more than 1,000 companies from over 40 countries and regions.

Kunshan's rapid development reflects how the city, Suzhou, has risen as an economic powerhouse.

Suzhou has eight national-level development zones, including the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, and the Taicang Port National Economic Development Zone.

There are also two national high-tech districts and two bonded zones, which all make important contributions to the city's economic development.

The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, set up in 1994 under the collaboration of Chinese and Singaporean governments, has attracted more than 4,400 overseas projects from more than 70 countries and regions.

These include 156 projects initiated by Fortune Global 500 enterprises and about 30 world-class educational and research institutions operated jointly with foreign universities.

Thanks to these development zones, Suzhou's GDP hit 1.86 trillion yuan ($263.69 billion) last year, a year-on-year increase of 6.8 percent, ranking first among the cities in Jiangsu province and seventh in China.