Yao Jianquan, right, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discusses development trends for China's IoT industry in Wuxi's Hi-tech district on Aug 7, World IoT Day. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wuxi's Internet of Things (IoT) industry saw a surge in revenue in the first half of 2018, up 18.4 percent year-on-year, after the city sealed its leading position in IoT standardization, according to the Wuxi municipal commission of economy and information on Aug 6.

The city bet on the IoT industry nine years ago, earlier than its domestic counterparts, and has achieved fruitful results.

It is the birthplace of 11 IoT-related international standards and 41 national standards, ranking among the top in the country.

As the national central city in the IoT industry, Wuxi attaches great value on innovation and global participation, putting it at the forefront of IoT standardization.

The International Standardization Organization (ISO) recently issued China's Internet of Things Reference Architecture (IoT RA), namely the ISO/IEC 30141, marking the global acceptance of Wuxi-proposed IoT standards.

According to Zhang Hualin, president of the Wuxi Association for IoT Industry, in an interview on Aug 7, the association will collaborate with government to combine the efforts of enterprises, universities and research institutes. It will serve as a bridge between government and industry and foster the development of Wuxi's IoT industry.

Yao Jianquan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, later clarified the role government should perform in IoT industry.

"Chinese IoT companies should develop core leading-edge technologies and thus hold the initiative in competition," Yao said.

In recent years Wuxi has been increasingly active in global cooperation. According to Shen Jie, director of the National IoT Standardization Group, the Canada-China IoT and Blockchain Research Institute set up a branch in Wuxi Aug 7, unveiling an exciting prospect for the development of Wuxi's IoT industry.

Wuxi is on track to become the pioneer city of the digital economy as its IoT industry continues to growing. The World IoT Expo 2018 will take place in the city in mid-September.