High-tech district draws record capital

The Wuxi National Hi-tech District, also known as the WND, in Jiangsu province embraces the internet of things as a new engine of development.

The World IoT Expo 2019 held in Wuxi in early September has put the WND in the world's spotlight.

As a national demonstration zone for sensor network innovation and a forerunner of the Chinese IoT industry, the district in Wuxi generated more than 160 billion yuan ($22.85 billion) in business revenue from the sector in 2018, accounting for more than 60 percent of the city's total. It has become an influential hub of the industry nationwide, local officials said.

Established in 1992, the WND has developed into a technological innovation center and exerted great influence on the surrounding areas to promote industrial innovation, according to Wang Jinjian, vice-mayor of Wuxi and Party secretary of Xinwu district, home to the WND.

In the past decade, the district has made efforts to improve local companies' production efficiency, promote innovation and reconstruction of the industrial chain and put more IoT applications into practice.

When the WND was approved to build a national sensor network innovation demonstration zone a decade ago, the IoT industry was still in its infancy. The district pioneered the new industry and attracted professionals and investments from China and abroad.

Local authorities accelerate the integration between IoT technology and the traditional manufacturing industry, focus on the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing and promote tech applications to the sectors of smart city and intelligent medical services.

In the past decade, the WND has launched 125 national and provincial demonstration application projects, covering intelligent environmental protection, intelligent medicine, intelligent transportation and energy sectors.

The number of IoT-related companies has grown to 1,152 from 242 a decade ago. The companies complete the industrial chain with sensing equipment design and manufacture, data collection and transmission, intelligent applications and services sectors.