Suzhou aims big for aerospace industry development

Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu province holds a conference detailing the development of its local aerospace industry on April 26. [Photo/myzaker.com]

Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu province held a conference detailing the development of the local aerospace industry on April 26, with officials stating their goal to attract 500 companies and generate 60 billion yuan ($9.25 billion) in revenue by 2023.

The city also plans to build three to five aerospace industrial parks by 2023, including an aircraft research center and an aviation industrial park, which were unveiled at the event.

Suzhou also rolled out specific development directions for districts and county-level cities that are under its administration, in which: Taicang will be committed to cultivating aerospace industrial clusters; Kunshan and Wuzhong will focus on parts processing for privately-owned aviation; Suzhou Industrial Park will try to attract foreign aviation equipment enterprises; Suzhou New District will focus on military aerospace enterprises, Wujiang will highlight aviation high-end equipment and key parts; while Zhangjiagang and Changshu will give priority to aviation standard parts and new materials.

The event also saw the signing of 78 aerospace projects, worth a total of 23.6 billion yuan in investment, nine of which will be settled in SND.

A total of 150 companies were included in the city's high-quality enterprise incubation list, 12 of which are from SND.

A bird's-eye view of the aviation industrial park in Suzhou New District. [Photo/WeChat account: snd-szgxqfb]

In recent years, SND has been dedicated to gathering high-end and innovative momentum to develop its aerospace industry.

It is now home to a number of domestically leading research institutes in the aerospace industry, including the 214 Institute of China North Industries Group, the Ceprei East China Laboratory, and the Suzhou Innovation Institute of Beihang University.

It has also gathered a number of leading industrial companies, such as AVIC Suzhou Changfeng Avionics Co and Suzhou Huazhan Space Appliance Co, which cover fields including avionics, new aerospace materials, aerospace components, as well as related supporting inspection and testing services.

The district is also active in establishing deeper connections with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, manufacturer of the world-renowned C919 and CR929 aircraft series, with the goal of carrying out cooperation in more areas.