Economic powerhouse to seek new biz opportunities in Europe

Suzhou, an economic powerhouse located in East China's Jiangsu province, announced that from Dec 9 to 18, it will order a charter flight to help local merchants seek new business opportunities in France and Germany.

The delegation, consisting of over 200 foreign trade enterprise employees, is expected to visit global top 500 enterprises, industrial leading enterprises, and financial institutions such as Siemens, Knorr-Bremse, Fives Group, and Cathay Capital.

Public servants from commerce bureaus of the city and its subordinate areas will also be aboard the flight, aiming to attract more foreign businesses and investments.

"Face-to-face visits and negotiations are more effective and cannot be replaced by online talks. We can consolidate our relationship with European customers and get a deeper understanding of trendy products and technologies in Europe," said an official from the Suzhou commerce bureau.

Last year, trade between Suzhou and Germany was $14.81 billion, a year-on-year growth of 33.9 percent and accounting for more than 6 percent of China's total trade with Germany. Trade between Suzhou and France was up 22.1 percent to $4.42 billion in 2021, accounting for over 5 percent of national trade with France.

Suzhou previously dispatched a chartered flight to Japan from Nov 17 to 23, the first overseas business trip time by the government of a Chinese city since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The trip helped the Suzhou government and foreign trade enterprises ink cooperation deals worth over $18.74 billion in total, including a $150-million deal realized by the delegation from Suzhou New District with a Japanese manufacturer of cancer treatment equipment.