“At thirty, one should have established oneself”—this is a significant milestone in a person’s life.

For the Economic Development Zone, thirty years is more than enough to reach the prime of its life, bearing fruit in both spring and autumn.

Highly concentrated industries, comprehensive park amenities, high-quality development, and a surge of foreign investment… This is the Changshu Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Recently, there has been a steady stream of good news regarding foreign investment projects, with more “heavyweight” players joining the ranks.

Driven by the strong efforts of GuChuan United, two major foreign investment projects—Footprint Fupeng New Materials and Boente Biopharmaceuticals—have successively settled in the Changshu Economic Development Zone, investing $50 million and $30 million, respectively.

But that’s not all—Guchuan United has struck again, securing another major deal!

With a total investment of 1 billion yuan, an automotive parts project has successfully taken root in the Changshu Yushan High-Tech Zone, welcoming a “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” enterprise to the area.

This trust from both domestic and foreign investors stems not only from GuChuan United’s role as a facilitator but also from Changshu’s approach of “aligning resources with projects”—carefully listening to needs and responding swiftly to ensure precise and efficient investment promotion services.

As a regional economic development service provider with 14 years of deep-rooted experience, GuChuan United offers enterprises professional site selection advice.

By comprehensively integrating factors such as geographical and transportation advantages, distinctive leading industrial clusters, and high-quality industrial infrastructure, the firm empowers Changshu’s investment promotion efforts through a strategy of leveraging key points to drive broader development and creating clusters through multiple focal points.

Implementation Is Key; Speed Is Everything

The Footprint New Materials project has been established in the Changshu Economic Development Zone with a total investment of $50 million. It will serve as a headquarters for the R&D, production, and sales of biodegradable plant-based eco-friendly materials, with annual sales expected to exceed 1 billion yuan upon full production capacity.

With the Consul General of Malaysia in attendance, the Footprint Fupeng New Materials project was officially signed. The Changshu Economic Development Zone’s high-end materials industry cluster has gained another “heavyweight” member.

Looking back, it took less than two months from the company’s initial site visit to Changshu to the final signing.

Rewinding two months, when we learned the company had resumed its site selection process and was considering establishing a production base in the Yangtze River Delta, GuChuan United immediately conducted a comprehensive assessment of the project’s development to accurately identify the company’s genuine site selection requirements.

U.S.-based Footprint is a unicorn company and a world-leading eco-friendly innovation technology firm integrating materials science, R&D design, and mass production. Its products are primarily supplied to internationally renowned brands such as McDonald’s, Costco, Burger King, Tyson, Walmart, and Grey Goose.

For foreign-invested companies, the faster the site selection process, the better; however, finding a suitable property that perfectly matches their needs is not something that can be achieved overnight.

To accelerate the site selection process, GuChuan United provides “one-on-one” end-to-end site selection services.

On one hand, we identify core requirements from the company’s perspective, provide site resources and location recommendations, and curate key information on eligible industrial parks for the company’s consideration.

On the other hand, we actively promote the project to multiple industrial parks, coordinate facility hosting plans, proactively address corporate needs, and facilitate communication and negotiations between the government and the company. This lays a solid foundation for corporate decision-making and prepares the ground for prioritizing site visits in the Changshu area.

Located in the northeastern part of Suzhou, Changshu sits at the intersection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Coastal Economic Belt. Leveraging its geographical advantages, spatial resources, and industrial foundation, the city is deeply engaged in the development of the Yangtze River Delta integration, emerging as one of the most investment-worthy cities in the coastal region.

Historically, local development has proceeded in small, measured steps, advancing cautiously and strategically.

“Small but beautiful” can serve both as a summary of Changshu’s industrial characteristics and as the city’s aspirational goal.

As Zhou Qindi, Secretary of the Changshu Municipal Party Committee, stated, we must adhere to the principle of “focusing on the big while not neglecting the small, and embracing the new without forgetting the old.”

Over the years, focusing on key sectors such as automotive, new energy, and acoustics, the city has cultivated a group of leading enterprises with greater competitiveness and influence, attracting and clustering more supporting enterprises and projects to accelerate the formation of high-level industrial innovation clusters with Changshu’s distinctive characteristics.

When companies visit the Changshu Economic and Technological Development Zone, trust is the foundation of all cooperation, and first impressions are indeed crucial. In particular, identifying potential areas of collaboration during the preliminary research phase is essential for engaging in “effective communication” with companies during face-to-face meetings.

More importantly, leveraging its professional investment promotion capabilities, GuChuan United has a thorough understanding of the comparative advantages, leading industries, and infrastructure resources of each industrial park.

With a clear grasp of the fundamentals and a thorough understanding of the situation—where every detail is committed to memory—we master the “basics” of investment promotion, directly facilitating efficient communication between the park and enterprises.

Perseverance in Pursuing Projects

The Changshu Economic Development Zone serves as the main hub for Changshu’s economic development. Leveraging its comprehensive advantages in industry, infrastructure, and location, the zone has attracted enterprises in traditional pillar industries such as chemicals, papermaking, energy, and steel.

Building on this foundation, the zone has also targeted emerging industries such as next-generation electronic information technology and applications, the acoustics industry and technical services, new energy and core technologies, and marine equipment and communications, to build a “2+4+1” modern industrial system.

Subsequently, the zone constructed Changshu Port, the Automobile City, and China Acoustic Valley, comprehensively enhancing the Economic Development Zone’s reputation and competitiveness.

Capitalizing on the Zone’s inherent strengths, the Boente Biopharmaceutical Project was established in the Changshu Economic Development Zone with a total investment of $30 million; once fully operational, the project is expected to generate annual tax revenues of 50 million yuan.

Government and enterprise representatives reached a consensus on matters including the research, development, and manufacturing of new anti-cancer drugs, as well as the timelines for obtaining drug production and sales licenses and renovating GMP-compliant facilities, and successfully signed the project investment agreement.

The process of attracting Boente—a specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprise—was by no means “a foregone conclusion”; rather, it was fraught with “many obstacles.”

Against the backdrop of intensifying competition for investment across regions, what stands out is—perseverance.

For GuChuan United, the signing of this project is a tangible result of their earlier “aggressive investment promotion” efforts.

As soon as news of the company’s site selection emerged, Guichuan United leveraged its precise understanding of the biopharmaceutical industry to swiftly recommend suitable industrial parks. At the same time, the firm demonstrated a deep grasp of the parks’ investment priorities—particularly the production resources they offered—which could help the company build core competitiveness.

After multiple rounds of negotiations and site visits, the company narrowed its location options to Changshu. Due to the specific nature of the company’s production—which involves hazardous chemical regulations—finding a suitable facility became the biggest obstacle to the project’s implementation.

Guchuan United fully understands that project implementation is not an overnight process, but rather a “point-to-point” negotiation. Through liaison and communication with the Changshu Economic Development Zone, a concrete implementation plan was finalized.

It is worth noting that the Changshu Economic Development Zone places high importance on the development of the life sciences and healthcare industry cluster. The zone engaged in multiple rounds of communication and revisions regarding the terms of the agreement, reported the situation to municipal approval authorities, and actively worked to secure the project’s entry into the park.

It must be said that everything is geared toward project implementation. The Development Zone prioritizes “recruitment,” facing challenges head-on with unwavering perseverance, ultimately facilitating the project’s establishment.

By proactively addressing and resolving the challenges and bottlenecks faced by companies during the establishment process, the park ensures that projects under negotiation are swiftly implemented, that established projects can operate with peace of mind, and that operational projects yield results as quickly as possible.

This demonstrates the excellent business environment of the Changshu Economic Development Zone, which integrates investment promotion with business retention planning and implementation. The zone is committed to maintaining a business environment that serves as a “powerful magnet” for attracting projects, thereby ensuring tangible results in investment promotion.

To date, the zone has attracted a number of flagship pharmaceutical and medical projects, including Fortune 500 company Novartis Pharmaceuticals (Switzerland), Ruibo Pharmaceuticals, Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical, Sensong, and Xindede.

At the same time, the zone has established a number of high-end manufacturing and R&D facilities tailored to the biopharmaceutical industry, such as the Yangtze River Delta (Changshu) International Advanced Manufacturing Industrial Park and the Sugaoke Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation Park. These are complemented by targeted “one-company-one-policy” support measures to drive the convergence of projects, talent, and technology, thereby building a comprehensive value chain and ecosystem for the life sciences and health industry.

Industrial Development Focuses on Tangible Results

As a key pillar of development, Yushan High-Tech Zone is located in the northern part of Changshu’s urban area and is the development zone closest to the city center.

Currently, the zone has established three leading industries—precision equipment, key components for new energy vehicles, and new consumer goods—which continue to inject momentum and vitality into Changshu’s economic development.

Leveraging the park’s robust industrial foundation and comprehensive supporting infrastructure, the park places high importance on emerging industries and new development directions with growth potential, while providing efficient services.

With precise recommendations from GuChuan United, an automotive parts project with a total investment of 1 billion yuan was successfully established in Yushan High-Tech Zone.

The project developer is a "Specialized, Refined, Unique, and Innovative" enterprise focused on R&D and production in the heat exchanger sector. It possesses advanced digital production lines and information management tools, with products covering components for automotive and residential air conditioning systems.

Faced with an urgent need for site selection, GuChuan United adhered to the principle of “efficiency first.”

Through in-depth research into the current state of industrial development across different parks, we prioritized the alignment between the company’s industry and the region’s dominant industries, achieving a precise match between project resources and investment promotion needs.

Furthermore, the firm continuously facilitated mutual visits between government officials and the enterprise and provided ongoing follow-up. Adopting a win-win approach for both parties, it offered effective solutions and recommendations to address issues and obstacles that arose during the process, thereby rapidly advancing the project’s implementation.

Today, the High-Tech Zone has attracted numerous Fortune 500 companies, including Fuji Electric (Japan), ThyssenKrupp (Germany), Faurecia (France), CCCC, CRRC, Chinalco, Faurecia, and NJ Co., Ltd., as well as foreign-invested enterprises from multiple countries.

Over the years, the zone has nurtured high-quality local enterprises such as Changshu Switch Manufacturing, Tongrun Drive, Automotive Trim, and Yingwo Elevator, thereby forming industrial clusters in high-end equipment manufacturing, artificial intelligence, healthcare, and new energy equipment.

For Yushan High-Tech Zone, innovation is the primary driving force behind development. By proactively embracing technological innovation and seizing industrial opportunities, the zone has created a robust ecosystem for emerging industries.

Fourteen years of practical experience and accumulated data form the foundation and key to Guchuan United’s targeted efforts and efficient investment promotion. At this critical moment when the nation is “competing for economic growth and seizing development opportunities,” Guchuan United will continue to leverage the advantages of its big data platform, guided by high-quality development, to provide strategic advice for local investment promotion and inject new momentum into the region.