Suzhou charters flight to France, Germany for new biz opportunities

NANJING — Flight MU7149, carrying a trade-economic delegation from Suzhou, Jiangsu province, departed the provincial capital Nanjing at around 1 am on Dec 9, heading for Paris.

The delegation comprised more than 200 people, half of whom were from the investment departments of Suzhou's districts and counties and the others executives of trading enterprises.

Led by the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the delegation planned to conduct exchanges with many Fortune Global 500 companies, global industry leaders and well-known international financial institutions in France and Germany. A series of conferences were held in the two countries.

The move came after China announced 10 new prevention and control measures on Dec 7, aiming to help trading enterprises achieve more orders and attract investment.

China has been Germany's most important trading partner for six years, and France is China's third-largest trading partner in the European Union.

In 2021, Suzhou's trade with Germany totaled more than $14.81 billion, up 33.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for more than 6 percent of China's total trade with Germany. Suzhou now has over 130 France-funded enterprises and the city's actual use of French capital reached $1.04 billion.

"Face-to-face visits and negotiations are conducive to narrowing the distance between Suzhou and European economic and trade institutions and well-known enterprises," said Sun Jianjiang, director of the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce. "The trip can help expand new orders and attract new projects."

Gu Li, general manager of Jiangsu Changjiang Paper Co Ltd, brought three pieces of luggage, two of which were filled with new paper products designed by the company.

"Export business accounts for about 70 percent of our company's total business and I hope to seize this opportunity to attract more new orders in Europe," Gu said.

Suzhou's Lexy Electric Co Ltd had 13 people on board this time. After getting off the plane, they were divided into several groups to visit customers in 10 European countries.

"We hope to run faster and visit more customers," said Han Lifen, head of the overseas sales department of the company.