Suzhou focuses on innovation clusters in the digital economy era

Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu province held a conference on the development of the industrial innovation cluster in the digital economy era on Jan 5, local media outlets reported.

Cao Lubao, Party secretary of Suzhou, attended the conference and delivered a keynote speech.

Cao said that Suzhou should follow the new development philosophy, speed up the formation of innovation clusters with international competitiveness and global influence and promote the transformation of the industrial economy into an innovation economy.

He added that the city should also strive to become a national leader in realizing industrial transformation and upgrading led by innovation clusters.

According to officials, Suzhou will invest over 100 billion yuan ($15.74 billion) to support the development of the industrial innovation cluster in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.

Suzhou is poised to set new records for several economic indicators in 2021. For example, its GDP is expected to reach 2.2 trillion yuan while its revenue in the general public budget is likely to reach 251 billion yuan. The city's import and export volume is also expected to exceed $380 billion while its above-a-designated-size industries have generated more than 4 trillion yuan in output value. These results would mark a good start for the city in the 14th Five-Year Plan period.