Suzhou Economy

Suzhou is located in China' s economic epicenter，Due to this proximity, Suzhou is a city full of market opportunities for foreign investors coming to China and remains one of the nation' s key economic focal points. Suzhou has the largest local economy in Jiangsu, accounting for 19.6% of the Provincial total GDP. Suzhou Municipality consists of three cities; Changshu, Zhangjiagang and Kunshan.

As with most major Eastern Chinese cities, Suzhou has experienced a sustained period of double-digit economic growth. In 2006, local GDP reached 482.03 billion RMB, up 15.5% from the previous year. The value added output of the city' s tertiary industries realized volume of 157.4 billion RMB and the contribution ratio of the tertiary sector to total GDP increased more than 1.5% over the previous year. Perhaps the city’s greatest economic claim to fame is that Suzhou’s GDP per capita exceeds US$10,000, ranking first in the nation; no small feat in a country that is currently the world’s hottest marketplace.

The city’s main strategic industry is telecommunications, IT and electronics, which exceeded 400 billion RMB in sales revenue in 2006 – representing 12.3% of all the revenue from these sectors across China in that year. Other strategic industries in the city’s diverse manufacturing base are textiles, chemicals, and metallurgy, reflecting the city’s industrial orientation towards high-tech and export-oriented industries. The list of the city’s manufacturers reads like a Fortune Global 500 honor roll, with names like Dow Chemical, DuPont, Chevron, Mobil, Motorola, Philips, Sony and many more. Suzhou’s success in attracting investors of this caliber is partly due to the Suzhou government' s glittering reputation for efficiency, and partly to the preferential policies offered to encourage investment. Most industrial activity is concentrated in the city’s key economic and industrial zones: in fact the strategic vision for the city is as ''one body with two wings'': the body being the ancient center and the wings being satellite developments centered on industrial zones. The primary zones are Suzhou Industrial Park (a joint China-Singapore project), the Suzhou National New & Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, and the Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone.

The Southern Jiangsu Economic Model is the term used to describe the overall development of three of Jiangsu’s main urban centers including Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou. These days, foreign investment and international trade are playing an important role in Suzhou’s economy and the city once mostly known for its canals, bridges and tranquil gardens is now embarking upon two major strategic initiatives; to promote the city as a ''leading FDI destination'' and a '' base for new and hi-tech industries.'' This will no doubt be facilitated by the presence in Suzhou of a highly-educated labor force and aggressive policies to attract and retain premium talent.

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