Recently, the Organization Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee issued pre-appointment public notices regarding the candidates for Party secretary of seven prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu. In the past few days, the new Party secretaries for all seven cities have taken office.

Our analysis reveals that all seven Party secretaries were promoted from their previous roles as mayors, a notable commonality among this cohort of Party secretaries in Jiangsu’s prefecture-level cities. Among them, three were born in the 1970s: Du Xiaogang (born June 1976), Zhu Lifan (born December 1971), and Cao Lubao (born September 1971).It is worth noting that Du Xiaogang has become the youngest municipal Party secretary in a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu and the second-youngest in the country, while Zhang Baojuan is the second female Party secretary among Jiangsu’s 13 prefecture-level cities.

The work experience these newly appointed Party secretaries have accumulated at the local level will enable them to assume their new roles more quickly . At the same time, they possess unique insights into investment promotion strategies and tactics, which will further facilitate the consistent implementation of local development plans. To this end, we have compiled their theories, experiences, and methods regarding investment promotion, hoping to provide new guidance for everyone engaged in this work.

Du Xiaogang, Party Secretary of Wuxi

24/7 Service, 360-Degree Coverage

Attracting and supporting businesses is a time-honored tradition in Wuxi, a critical task of our era that must be addressed, and a pressing practical need for driving development. All localities and departments must stay focused on the goal of building a city with the optimal business environment, implement the principle of “no task is too difficult—we handle it with care,” and establish a 24/7, 360-degree business attraction and support system. We must build a reputation for “no unnecessary interference, but a prompt response to every request” and establish a system of dedicated business attraction and support officers.

Investment promotion and business support must be conducted with keen insight and tangible results. We must act swiftly to seize opportunities, ensuring that our research goes one step deeper, our actions are one step faster, and our outcomes are one step better than others; we must be pragmatic in gathering information, targeting key industries, key enterprises, and top-tier teams, building precise databases, and making every effort to attract industry leaders and critical core projects;We must strive for progress by benchmarking against the best, integrating advanced experiences, strengthening policy research and development, and formulating more practical policies with Wuxi’s distinctive characteristics.

We must address pain points and solve problems head-on, scientifically ensure land availability for projects, comprehensively build a development ecosystem, accelerate the creation of high-end platforms, and resolutely establish a closed-loop workflow, so that enterprises can genuinely experience Wuxi’s attitude, efficiency, and standards.

We must generously reward contributors to set the right direction, vigorously foster a strong business-friendly environment, promote the entrepreneurial spirit of innovation and hard work, host high-quality Entrepreneurs’ Day events, actively guide and support the healthy development of the private economy, and fully utilize and implement incentive measures for investment promotion and business protection to maximize the effectiveness of these policies.

Zhang Baojuan, Secretary of the Yangzhou Municipal Party Committee

Concentrate Efforts on Signature Projects

All localities and departments must center their efforts on established goals, address weaknesses and shortcomings, prioritize key areas such as advanced manufacturing, concentrate resources, and tackle challenges head-on to ensure the completion of annual targets.We must seize the current golden opportunity when key enterprises are drafting their investment plans for the coming year, further intensifying investment promotion efforts and increasing the frequency of visits. We must strengthen research on industrial chain development trends, vigorously advance initiatives to fill gaps and strengthen industrial chains around the “323+1” industrial clusters, further refine and concretize industrial chain maps, identify target enterprises, precisely promote industrial policies and comparative advantages, establish and improve “closed-loop” working mechanisms, and enhance the targeting and effectiveness of investment promotion.

We must emphasize the specialized and intensive development orientation of industrial parks. In accordance with the positioning of 1–2 specialty industries per park ,we must maintain focus, conduct scientific planning, and optimize layouts to ensure that attracted projects comply with industrial policies, demonstrate high compatibility, and possess strong driving power, thereby promoting the “second phase of development” and “revitalization” of industrial parks.

All localities and departments must accurately grasp the investment plans and development needs of target enterprises during the investment promotion process and provide comprehensive, targeted, and personalized services.We must firmly establish a “big-picture” mindset, ensuring information and resource sharing, coordination between all levels, and interdepartmental collaboration to form a powerful synergy in investment promotion efforts. We must improve the evaluation methods for investment promotion, optimize the business environment, jointly address issues, and eliminate bottlenecks and difficulties in the approval process to fully promote the early implementation, commencement, and results of attracted projects.

Zhu Lifan, Secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Party Committee

Establishing a Clear Orientation Toward “Output Per Acre”

With the courage to strive for first place and a strong sense of responsibility, crisis awareness, and urgency, we have earnestly pursued projects and focused on substantive initiatives. Project development has shown a promising trend of catching up and sustained improvement, with a large number of high-value, innovative, and eco-friendly projects being established. We have taken the lead in Jingjiang City in research aimed at strengthening industries and industrial chains. Development is the top priority, innovation is the primary driving force, and talent is the most valuable resource. Jingjiang must leverage its comparative advantages, actively seize the favorable opportunities presented by the spillover of industries and high-end talent from Shanghai and southern Jiangsu , intensify the aggregation and integration of innovation resources, accelerate the creation of a “bridgehead” for talent, and attract a cohort of high-level, innovative scientific and technological talent to provide strong support for the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements and the implementation of projects.

We must resolutely implement the new development philosophy, establish a clear orientation of “measuring success by output per mu,” accelerate the pace of intelligent transformation, and drive the equipment manufacturing industry toward the mid-to-high end of the value chain. We must continue to intensify efforts in investment promotion, constantly strengthen the mindset of attracting investment based on industrial chains, create a demonstrative and leading effect where “attracting one brings in a cluster,” build advantageous industrial clusters, and contribute Jingjiang’s strength to the creation of an “industrial growth pole rising in Central China.”

Zhuang Zhaolin, Secretary of the Xuzhou Municipal Party Committee

The “Frontline” for Cultivating Cadres

We will focus our efforts on four key areas, striving to take the lead in speed and advance our ranking in total volume. First, we must achieve greater breakthroughs in investment promotion. Investment promotion is the “top priority” of economic work, a key measure for driving high-quality development, and the “primary battlefield” for cultivating cadres. Cadres at all levels must take this seriously, commit fully, concentrate their efforts, and tackle the task with determination and resolve.We must prioritize industrial project investment attraction above all else, expand the scale of industrial output, and optimize the industrial structure. We must target the right sectors, highlight key priorities, and enhance the precision of our investment attraction efforts; innovate our approaches, engage in in-depth project discussions, and increase the rate of negotiations leading to signed agreements; and strengthen follow-up, emphasize coordination, and improve the project implementation rate. Second, we must open up greater space for foreign trade, adopt multiple measures to stabilize trade growth, optimize the structure and elevate the level of trade, enhance export competitiveness, strengthen import trade, vigorously develop service outsourcing, and expand channels for “going global.” Third, we must achieve greater results in platform development, accelerate the construction of various customs special supervision zones and land-based open ports, expand and strengthen aviation ports, and improve the level of trade facilitation.Fourth, we must strive for greater improvements in the business environment. By benchmarking against world-class standards, adopting a problem-oriented approach, and integrating both soft and hard measures, we will work to create a first-class business environment nationwide.

We must intensify organizational efforts and implementation. Organizational leadership must be further strengthened; top leaders must continue to take the lead in investment promotion, with major issues addressed through direct coordination and oversight. Policy incentives must be further expanded; we will improve the incentive and accountability mechanisms for investment promotion, establish a clear orientation of rewarding excellence and penalizing underperformance, and commend and reward units and individuals with outstanding performance and significant achievements.Evaluation and supervision must be further tightened. We will improve the system of monthly reports, quarterly reviews, semi-annual inspections, and annual evaluations for investment promotion work. Supervision and inspection must adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts, and we will resolutely eliminate fraudulent projects. All localities and departments must consolidate and expand the achievements of the Beijing Industrial Cooperation and Development Symposium, ensuring that projects are fulfilled on schedule. At the same time, we must carefully organize investment promotion activities to enhance their effectiveness, achieving major economic development in Xuzhou through major breakthroughs in attracting investment.

Cao Lubao, Secretary of the Yancheng Municipal Party Committee

The Direction of Reform Is Clear; the Key Lies in Implementation

Industrial parks are vital vehicles for high-quality development. The meeting carefully reviewed reports on the initial integration, current status, and existing issues of the city’s first batch of 11 municipally designated industrial parks. It emphasized the need to take seriously problems such as inadequate understanding, lack of initiative, unclear positioning, and imperfect operational mechanisms that have arisen during the reform process. The meeting noted that while the direction of reform is clear, the key lies in execution. All localities, departments, and industrial parks must shift their development philosophy, earnestly strengthen their ideological and practical commitment to participating in and supporting reform, resolutely follow the path of “planning before development” and resource-efficient, intensive development, decisively abandon the old path of extensive development , promote the integration of provincial-level development zones and high-tech zones, meticulously implement all follow-up tasks, strive to advance reform in depth, and focus on enhancing the development level of industrial parks.

The meeting emphasized the need to focus on advantageous and distinctive industries, clarify industrial development directions, and intensify efforts to attract investment. Building on existing industrial foundations and key enterprises, we must fully leverage the “grapevine effect” of major projects to extend and strengthen industrial chains and build distinctive industrial clusters. We must elevate the level of park construction and development by formulating high-quality specialized plans—including industrial and spatial planning—making full and effective use of existing planning space to continuously improve the output efficiency of industrial parks.Efforts must be made to advance reforms in the investment and financing system. While comprehensively prohibiting financing by township-level platforms, a county-level investment and financing mechanism should be established in accordance with the “one park, one entity” standard. This mechanism should integrate assets, ensure unified operations, and maintain independent accounting to increase financing scale and capacity, thereby better serving the development of the industrial parks. We must adhere to innovative development, strengthen connections with science and technology innovation resources, enhance independent innovation capabilities, and boost the core competitiveness of industrial parks.

Reform and innovation in industrial parks are crucial to the city’s overall economic development. The meeting called on all localities to strengthen their sense of responsibility, earnestly shoulder the heavy task of reforming and innovating industrial parks, and thoroughly examine shortcomings in work methods, project layout, institutional arrangements, and fund implementation. They must make every effort to overcome challenges and achieve breakthroughs, devoting greater effort to industrial investment, park construction, and the development of incubators, while supporting eligible township industrial parks to grow and become stronger.The Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology must strengthen supervision and guidance, implement strict performance evaluations, enhance communication and coordination, and proactively provide frontline services. Through hard work and dedication, it should drive the high-quality development of industrial parks and provide strong support for Yancheng’s economic and social development.

Wang Hui, Secretary of the Nantong Municipal Party Committee

We Must Put Even Greater Effort into “Assistance and Agency Services”

We must dare to tackle difficulties without wavering; many issues encountered in the advancement of major projects cannot be resolved by enterprises on their own. Relevant departments must exercise greater patience and, with the tenacity of driving a nail, tailor solutions for each project—and even each specific challenge—to ensure that all major projects that have not yet commenced construction start on schedule and as soon as possible.

We must firmly uphold the priority of major project construction, accelerate the implementation of higher-level approvals, and make every effort to resolve bottlenecks in the preliminary stages. We must strengthen communication with major project investors, address their concerns effectively, and help enterprises maintain their resolve for development and boost their confidence in investment.

We must continue to innovate and ensure comprehensive service coverage. We need to devote greater effort to “assistance and proxy services,” ensure the “information express lane” mechanism runs more smoothly, and make better use of information technology and digital service tools, so that enterprises feel a greater sense of fulfillment and security.

We must resolutely enhance the level of intensive and clustered development in industrial parks, accurately balance the relationship between expanding new capacity and revitalizing existing assets, effectively improve the input-output ratio, and drive the transformation of industrial park development from “extensive” expansion to “intensive” growth.

We must confidently and resolutely expand, strengthen, and optimize state-owned enterprises, directing state capital and various resources toward core businesses, leading enterprises, and competitive industries.

We must comprehensively elevate the level of urban development, vigorously advance the upgrading of talent apartments, continuously enhance public service functions, optimize the ecological environment, and create new platforms for urban development and new spaces for a happy life.

Fang Wei, Secretary of the Lianyungang Municipal Party Committee

Abandon the bureaucratic mindset and advance market-oriented investment promotion

As the city’s earliest zone of opening-up , the Municipal Development Zone serves as the main battleground for building our city into a strategic hub along the “Belt and Road” and a pioneer in the city’s economic and social development.Currently, the Municipal Development Zone must further strengthen five key awarenesses: the awareness of being a key node city at the “Belt and Road” intersection; the awareness of being the eastern starting point of the New Eurasian Land Bridge; the awareness of being a national demonstration zone for regional cooperation between the east, central, and western regions; the awareness of serving as a benchmark and demonstration project; and the awareness of marine development. We must resolutely implement the requirements of the new round of reform and opening-up, further heighten the sense of urgency and responsibility in investment promotion,strive to foster a dynamic and proactive investment promotion environment, and make due contributions to accelerating the construction of the city as a “Belt and Road” convergence point and achieving “high-quality development and catching up with the leaders.”

The Municipal Development Zone must prioritize investment promotion as the top priority of its overall work, further optimize the project management mechanism for investment promotion, and comprehensively consolidate responsibilities in this area. We must adhere to a project-led approach, develop high-standard industrial plans for “parks-within-parks” and specialty parks, and establish scientific and reasonable quantitative development targets for the zone. We must accelerate the construction of supporting industrial infrastructure within the parks, establish innovative service platforms for industrial development, and showcase the parks’ positive development image. We must refine the organization of investment promotion information, establish a land mapping mechanism and a catalog of industrial project needs, place high importance on research into new development platforms, and identify areas of alignment with Lianyungang’s industrial positioning. We must coordinate the advancement of all tasks related to the construction of major scientific facilities and comprehensive bonded zones, innovate the functions of these platforms, and accelerate the pace of construction.

We must break away from bureaucratic thinking and promote market-oriented, platform-based, and targeted investment promotion. Major investment promotion bureaus should strengthen industrial research, expand the brand power and influence of regional investment promotion, and accelerate efforts to attract a batch of major projects. Platform companies should leverage their advantages in market-oriented investment promotion and actively advance targeted investment promotion. Each subdistrict should highlight distinctive investment promotion strategies based on regional development characteristics.All investment promotion personnel must earnestly strengthen their sense of responsibility, dedication, and confidence in attracting investment, and devote themselves fully to this work. We must improve the evaluation mechanism, regularly report on the completion of investment promotion tasks by departments at all levels, and ensure that everyone shoulders their responsibilities. We must further optimize the business environment, accelerate the development of social undertakings, strengthen foundational work, maintain overall social stability, and promote comprehensive progress in all sectors, thereby laying a solid foundation for revitalizing economic development.