Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, Jiangsu province, is seeking further cooperation with Pudong, Shanghai and hopes to become a more attractive city within the Yangtze River Delta region.

The new Chongming-Qidong Bridge allows people to drive from Pudong to Qidong in less than one hour, which has helped strengthen relations between the two regions.

Qidong recently signed an agreement with WuXi AppTec, which is based in Shanghai, to establish a research and development center in Qidong. This is the second joint project to be carried out by the two cities. 

The center will be constructed in three phases and will receive a total of 5 billion yuan ($730 million) in investment. Its taxable sales revenue is expected to be between 5 billion and 10 billion yuan.

An agreement was recently signed between Qidong and the WuXi AppTec to establish a research and development center in Qidong. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

In Novembr 2015, an industrial park focusing on high-end manufacturing was established by Pudong and Qidong. To date, the park has attracted 31 enterprises engaged in advanced manufacturing, producer services, and several emerging industries.

Qidong now hopes to attract more investment from the high-end manufacturing industrial chain in Pudong and aims to sign at least 30 project agreements valued at over 1 billion yuan each, with projects involving manufacturing expected to account for 60 percent of the total.

In addition, Lyusi Port, which is a key area for opening-up in coastal Nantong, has been officially recognized as a national first-class port. Its shoreline stretches 22 kilometers and it has carried out several major projects worth 10 billion yuan each.