Suzhou steps up opening-up drive

In the first three quarters of 2026, Suzhou's GDP reached 2.12 trillion yuan ($317.8 billion), up 5.6 percent year-on-year, leading all cities in Jiangsu in both economic output and growth. Foreign trade totaled 3.07 trillion yuan, up 51.9 percent.

By 2030, the city aims to increase its share of Jiangsu province's and China's total imports and exports. It also plans to maintain its leading position in Jiangsu in terms of utilized foreign capital and remain among the country's top cities in this regard. Moreover, Suzhou expects to have 270 provincial-level headquarters and functional institutions of foreign-invested companies, as well as 400 provincial-level foreign-invested research and development centers.

The conference also heard from business leaders who shared their experiences of growing alongside Suzhou.

Wang Laichun, chairman and general manager of Luxshare Precision Industry, a Fortune Global 500 company, viewed opening-up embedded as part of Suzhou's DNA. Its well-established industrial supply chains and market-oriented, law-based and international business environment provide companies with a stable and predictable foundation for long-term development.

Since setting up operations in Kunshan in 2009, Luxshare has gradually expanded across Suzhou, establishing an industrial presence in Changshu, Wuzhong district and Xiangcheng district.

Matias Campodonico, global vice-president of Dow, highlighted Suzhou's strong and highly coordinated industrial ecosystem, as well as its commitment to advanced manufacturing and technological innovation, and its close links with industries shaping the future of materials science.

Dow has invested more than $3 billion cumulatively in its Zhangjiagang production base, making it one of the company's most important manufacturing hubs in the Asia-Pacific region. The Greater China market is Dow's second-largest globally and one of its most important strategic growth regions.

As Suzhou looks ahead to the next five years, the "1+9" action plans signal its commitment to further strengthening its position in global trade and investment while creating more opportunities for businesses to grow and expand internationally.