Fang Wei, vice governor of Jiangsu province, attends a press conference in Beijing on April 2, 2024. [Photo by Xu Xiang/China SCIO]

With openness as a distinct feature, Jiangsu province aims to build a "globally attractive and two-way open hub" as part of its efforts to promote higher-level opening up, said Fang Wei, vice governor of Jiangsu province, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday. 

Located at the junction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Maritime Silk Road, Jiangsu has 24 freight routes connecting Europe and Asia, and welcomes more than 260,000 cargo ships each year. The province has emerged as a transit hub for trade with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and countries in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Europe, Fang said. 

The vice governor noted that while Jiangsu used to rely mostly on export and foreign investment, it is now placing equal emphasis on export and import, and inbound and outbound investment. Jiangsu's domestic and international trade volume approaches 10 trillion yuan (US$1.38 trillion), with annual cargo throughput exceeding 3.5 billion metric tons. 

Meanwhile, as pillars of high-level opening up, the 158 provincial-level-or-above development zones in Jiangsu contribute to 50% of its GDP, 80% of foreign investment, and 80% of foreign trade. Fang noted that Kunshan, a smaller-size city in southeastern Jiangsu, has vigorously boosted opening up over the years, with its foreign trade accounting for one-seventh of the province. 

In addition, since its establishment in 2019, the China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone has made 379 institutional innovations, and is now piloting biomedicine industrial chain innovation and cross-border data flow.  

Going forward, Jiangsu will enhance institutional opening up and innovation, gather capital, technologies, and talent from around the world, and develop a higher-level open economy, Fang said.