Suzhou plans to prioritize innovation

Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu province is boosting trade outside the US market and prioritizing innovation to offset the impact of Sino-US trade friction.

According to the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the US has been Suzhou's largest trading market and one of the most important sources of foreign investment for years. In 2018, Suzhou had 9,655 companies that exported $57.83 billion of goods to the US, accounting for 28 percent of the city's total export volume.

It had more than 1,100 US-funded companies and its actual use of foreign capital totaled $7.47 billion last year. Suzhou also invested in 313 projects in the US with investments totaling $2.16 billion, according to the commerce bureau.